The short answer
Telegram admin permissions are separate switches, set per admin. Delete Messages and Ban Users cover moderation. Change Group Info, Pin Messages and Manage Topics cover running the group. Add New Admins hands on your own power, and Remain Anonymous hides who acted. Give each admin, and each bot, only the rights they use.
Key facts
- Admin rights are set per admin. Two admins in one group can hold different rights.
- Any admin, whatever their rights, can open the Recent Actions log, see a hidden member list and ignore slow mode.
- An admin with Add New Admins can promote others with a subset of their own rights.
- A bot added as an admin receives every message sent in the group.
- A moderation bot needs Delete Messages and Ban Users. It never needs Add New Admins or Remain Anonymous.
- A group owner can transfer ownership to another member at any time.
What are admin permissions on Telegram?
When you promote someone in a group, Telegram shows a list of switches. Each one is a separate right. You choose them per admin, so a moderator and a co-owner can hold very different powers.
You find them under Administrators in the group's settings.
Three things come with any admin role, whatever is switched on: access to the Recent Actions log, the ability to see a hidden member list, and freedom from slow mode.
What does each right allow?
| Right | What it allows | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Change Group Info | Change the title, photo and other settings | Owner, a co-lead |
| Delete Messages | Delete other people's messages | Moderators, a moderation bot |
| Ban Users | Restrict, ban and unban members | Moderators, a moderation bot |
| Invite Users via Link | Invite new users to the group | Whoever manages growth |
| Pin Messages | Pin and unpin messages | Community managers |
| Manage Topics | Create, rename, close and reopen topics, in groups that use them | Community managers |
| Manage Video Chats | Start and run video chats | Whoever hosts them |
| Add New Admins | Promote others with a subset of your own rights, and demote the admins you promoted | The owner, and at most one deputy |
| Remain Anonymous | Hide the admin in the member list and sign their messages with the group's name | Admins at personal risk, and nobody else |
Newer Telegram versions add more switches: posting, editing and deleting the group's stories, and editing members' tags. Leave them off unless that admin does that job.
Which rights are dangerous?
Add New Admins is the one that matters most. An admin who holds it can promote any account, including one a scammer controls, with every right they hold themselves. If that admin's account is stolen, the thief can add more admins before you notice. Removing the stolen account is then not enough. See what to do when an account is hacked.
Change Group Info lets an admin rename the group and replace its photo. On a stolen account, that turns your group into someone else's.
Pin Messages looks harmless. A pinned scam link has the group's full authority behind it.
Remain Anonymous removes accountability inside the chat. Members cannot tell which admin posted. Other admins can still see who the anonymous admins are, and Recent Actions keeps a log of what was done in the group over the last 48 hours.
What about custom titles and tags?
Group owners can give each admin a custom title, such as "Moderator" or "Support lead". The title is shown with every message that admin sends in the group. That helps members recognise real admins, and it is a reason to keep the admin list short. Titles do not appear in private chats, which is what the fake admin scam relies on.
Telegram also has member tags. Members can show a tag next to their name, admins can decide who sets them, and admins' tags are shown in a different colour.
Which rights does a moderation bot need?
Two: Delete Messages and Ban Users. Removing spam and restricting the accounts that post it take nothing else.
A bot that also screens join requests needs the right to process them. Telegram introduced Guardian bots for join requests in June 2026. The join requests guide explains how they work.
Never give a bot these:
- Add New Admins. A bot never needs to raise its own rights or anyone else's.
- Remain Anonymous. A security bot should be visible.
Leave the rest off too: Change Group Info, Invite Users via Link, Pin Messages, Manage Topics and Manage Video Chats.
One more fact to weigh. A bot added as an admin receives every message in the group. Giving a bot admin rights is a decision to trust whoever runs it, so check its exact @username first.
This is what Targa asks for. It needs Delete Messages and Ban Users, and the Process Join Requests right if you want it to screen requests at the door. Add New Admins and Remain Anonymous stay off. We also suggest setting its member tag to "bot", because promoting a bot changes its corner label from "bot" to "admin", the label impostors imitate. Added with no admin rights at all, Targa stays a passive observer and still computes your Targa Score at member depth. The FAQ has the details.
Which rights should each role have?
These are our recommendations, not Telegram rules.
| Role | Rights to give |
|---|---|
| Owner | Holds everything. Protect the account with two-step verification. |
| Deputy | Delete Messages, Ban Users, Pin Messages, Invite Users via Link. Add New Admins only if you would trust them with the whole group. |
| Moderator | Delete Messages, Ban Users |
| Community manager | Pin Messages, Manage Topics, Manage Video Chats |
| Moderation bot | Delete Messages, Ban Users, plus the join request right if it screens requests |
| Any other bot | Nothing, or the single right its job needs |
Review the list every month. Remove admins who left the project and bots you no longer use. Every admin account is one more account that can be phished.
What if the owner leaves?
A group owner can transfer ownership to another member at any time. If the owner leaves the group, Telegram transfers ownership to one of its admins after one week, unless the owner chooses a new owner on the way out.
Decide who that would be before it happens. For the rest of the list, see how to protect a group from scammers, and run the free group check to see what your group shows from outside.
Common questions
What can a Telegram admin do?
Only what the rights switched on for that admin allow. Depending on the switches, an admin can delete messages, ban members, change the group's name and photo, pin messages, manage invite links, topics and video chats, and add other admins. Every admin can read the Recent Actions log.
What is the difference between the owner and an admin?
The owner created the group or received it by transfer, and holds every right. Admins hold the rights they were given. An admin with Add New Admins can only pass on rights they hold themselves, and can demote only admins they promoted.
What admin rights does a moderation bot need?
Delete Messages and Ban Users. That is what removing spam and restricting spammers take. A bot that screens join requests also needs the right to process them. Everything else can stay off, and Add New Admins and Remain Anonymous should never be given to a bot.
What does Remain Anonymous do on Telegram?
It hides the admin in the member list, and their messages are signed with the group's name. It protects admins who may be targeted. It also means members cannot see which admin wrote a message, so use it on purpose and never for a bot.
Can a bot with admin rights read all messages?
Yes. Telegram's bot documentation says bots added as admins always receive all messages in the group. A bot without admin rights sees only messages meant for it, unless its developer switched privacy mode off.
See what a scammer sees in your group
The free group check reads a group's public signals and shows where it is exposed. No account needed.