There is a need by some people to be able to avoid private messages for non-contacts.
Why?: There are many reasons on why to add this feature.
As a social person i enjoy being inside Public Groups. It's amazing to be able to talk to other people from all around the world.
But it comes with a cost:
Users/Scammers/Spammers and Autommated Accouns that are (or not) inside public groups can annoy you in private.
Users (mostly male) contact other users (mostly female) to annoy them and molest them in private.(sending dick pics and other nasty things)
We have a big report button, yes, but it's not enough. It gets tedious to every day for months pressing that report button for many strangers.
There would be no problem if it was just 1 or 2 every month... But it's way way more!!
Your only option is 1) Resign and Accept it or 2) Leave any Public Group.
Scammers contacting Users to do what they know best: Scam people. At least this ones don't target just a group.
Same problem as above: Yeah, we have a report button but it gets tedious if you have to report every day a bunch of scammers.
Automated accounts and Spammers contact you in private to send you advertisments of any kind (i even received ads from a Shoe Maker in Iran, i am from europe :shrug:).
Same as before: You have a big red block and report button but: It's not enough!!
Most of those automated accounts or spammers accounts are throw away accounts so the report button is useless. Yes that account will get a limitation but no one cares!
They can create as many accounts they like.
It's more! combine the options above!! You get bombarded every day from unknown Accounts just for making a social life inside Public Groups!!!!!
That's an issue..
For some unclear reason Telegram decided to just ignore the issue. They added a bunch of options that are not enough.
For example there is a hidden privacy option to Archive and Silence new Private Messages from non-contact users.
It's a step forward but this option only appears if you litterally get bombarded with hundreds of unknown users...
Most of the people that ask for a way to disable Private Messages from non-contacts are females.
Making that option hidden until some unknown conditional is reached feels like Telegram is embracing all those Creeps to allow them to annoy those females in private.
Not letting anyone decide if they want to (or not) receive private messages just kills the spirit of Public Groups for some minorities.
To be fair: We already asked and made noise with this topic back in 2016 or 2017... Probably no one will give a f*** about this.
Telegram Team lives in a bubble for years, they see things from another prespective as a New User that starts with Telegram, enters it's first masive Public Group and then it gets countless messages from bad people.
And don't take me wrong... More than 80% of people are really nice human beings... But in a group of 10K users even if just the 10% are the worst it's enough to drive you crazy with private messages from strangers.
Joseph: I did read the whole thing. I did understand you. I feel you there. I myself got all of what you mentioned there (whether it's dick pics or ads or userbots ot whatever), and I still get some of that, everyday.
My opinion is: No, please god no. What a suggestion that is!!! That's craziness.
Imagine having to beg someone in the common group with him in order for him to allow you to talk with you privately! People will use that badly!
The better solution is that Telegram should work more on their reputation. Now you will say: huh? Reputation? Yes, reputation. That includes that they should hire more moderators, more TSF members, and I do know that TSF members are really lazy, but, maybe.... Also enhance the the already good automated antispam system they have.
You are asking to spend more time and money and leaving it open to anyone just to not beg for being able to open a private message to someone. I don't know. it's an easy fix that doens't require that of an investment and it would allow users to ENABLE AND DISABLE IT.
If you don't like it you just disable it and you are able to receive anything from anyone. That's a choice instead of crying because you receive so many PM's that you sometimes want to just leave Telegram.
I think it would be even better if you ask before than to say sorry after doing it.
Fabian Pastor
Just to add more prespective to this:
An admin on @PublicTestGroup made a channel where she showed all the creeps that annoyed her in private just for being admin on a Public Group. Some are really sick. t.me/CreepyPMs
And there are other channels like the one from another lady that received a lot of private messages from creeps: t.me/Noodspanda
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Totally indispensable. Line has this function. Viber too. Discord too. For example, in a group, the administrator and also each user, must be able to choose whether to allow (or not) receiving messages from other members (as in Viber). Also in Telegram Settings it must be possible to choose in a granular way (as in Line or Instagram) whether to receive message requests, or not to receive messages directly, and to choose in which circumstances to receive them and in which not. Fundamental. Many women are harassed here. It's very very important.
Fabian Pastor
Joseph: By the way, that doesn't solve the problem. At all. It's just a mitigation. Poor one.
It's the same if you have goats which get killed everyday by the wolf. What would you do in that case?
Would you kill the wolf, or, you would surround farm with a barrier?
What you were trying to suggest is to kill the messenger, you want to kill the whole point of the messenger. Does that make sense to you? It doesn't, to anyone other than you. The better solution is to protect them with that barrier, which isn't the same as your suggestion. As I already said, and I repeat: You want to kill the point of this Instant Messaging app. If you killed the wolf, another will come (a new shape of spamming will occur).
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My response:
A messenger enables you to talk to people. Most of the time you only contact your friends and family. If you enter in groups it's probably because you want to talk there and know people there before starting a private message with anyone.
You are still able to talk to thousends of people out there in countless Public Groups and private groups.
The messenger is not dead.
You usually don't want that strangers contact you in private for no reason at all.
If you want that people contact you in private you set up a @username and you enable that feature.
The messenger will not be killed by just allowing users to decide if they want or not being contacted by strangers.
Someone with no username should be hidden, nobody can search them and their name can't be clicked if their messages are forwarded by default. —> maybe this one is better idea.
I am not really active in telegram anymore, I dont talk in public groups, didnt join any new group or chat here.
I can say hmm I didn't get any random PM for 2 months maybe?
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As a presonal note: I want to reiterate that this is a cry for help. There is not just 1 way of doing it and maybe my suggestion is not the best solution. BUT WE STILL HAVE AN ISSUE WITH PRIVATE MESSAGES THAT HAS NOT BEEN TAKED SERIOUSLY.
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Viber option to choose if allow whether or not members of a group can send you messages
Fabian Pastor
A screenshot of a friend of mine. She is inside Public Groups but she never said anything on them. No geolocation shared. Nothing. Just by being inside Public Groups
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Ghian
I completely agree with Fabian.
dot
First of all I would like to open my message that I am fully aware of this problem. I also help moderate couple groups, some are large, some are smaller, and I am also often under attack from strangers, that's both including people sending me stickers, or straight up scams and worse things. I also have friends that suffer from it too.
But I also need to disagree with some of your points.
"We already asked and made noise with this topic back in 2016 or 2017... Probably no one will give a f*** about this."
This is is wrong and basically defeats your point. Because if "no one gives a damn about this" - why suggesting this again then? You know it's not true, I don't think adding this sentence works in your favor, but I understand the saltiness.
"Telegram Team lives in a bubble for years, they see things from another perspective as a New User that starts with Telegram, enters it's first massive Public Group and then it gets countless messages from bad people."
I can guarantee you that Telegram Team is aware of the problem. Don't you think this was one of the reason for implementing Anonymous Admins? So people aren't bothered in private?
So let's try breaking down why Telegram never actually added ability to block upcoming messages, at least in my opinion:
Log in here to report bugs or suggest features. Please enter your phone number in the international format and we will send a confirmation message to your account via Telegram.
I did read the whole thing. I did understand you. I feel you there. I myself got all of what you mentioned there (whether it's dick pics or ads or userbots ot whatever), and I still get some of that, everyday.
My opinion is:
No, please god no. What a suggestion that is!!! That's craziness.
Imagine having to beg someone in the common group with him in order for him to allow you to talk with you privately! People will use that badly!
The better solution is that Telegram should work more on their reputation. Now you will say: huh? Reputation?
Yes, reputation. That includes that they should hire more moderators, more TSF members, and I do know that TSF members are really lazy, but, maybe....
Also enhance the the already good automated antispam system they have.
https://t.me/tgbetachat/870659
My response:
You are missing the point:
You are asking to spend more time and money and leaving it open to anyone just to not beg for being able to open a private message to someone.
I don't know. it's an easy fix that doens't require that of an investment and it would allow users to ENABLE AND DISABLE IT.
If you don't like it you just disable it and you are able to receive anything from anyone. That's a choice instead of crying because you receive so many PM's that you sometimes want to just leave Telegram.
I think it would be even better if you ask before than to say sorry after doing it.
An admin on @PublicTestGroup made a channel where she showed all the creeps that annoyed her in private just for being admin on a Public Group. Some are really sick.
t.me/CreepyPMs
And there are other channels like the one from another lady that received a lot of private messages from creeps:
t.me/Noodspanda
By the way, that doesn't solve the problem. At all. It's just a mitigation. Poor one.
It's the same if you have goats which get killed everyday by the wolf. What would you do in that case?
Would you kill the wolf, or, you would surround farm with a barrier?
What you were trying to suggest is to kill the messenger, you want to kill the whole point of the messenger. Does that make sense to you? It doesn't, to anyone other than you.
The better solution is to protect them with that barrier, which isn't the same as your suggestion. As I already said, and I repeat: You want to kill the point of this Instant Messaging app.
If you killed the wolf, another will come (a new shape of spamming will occur).
------------------
My response:
A messenger enables you to talk to people. Most of the time you only contact your friends and family.
If you enter in groups it's probably because you want to talk there and know people there before starting a private message with anyone.
You are still able to talk to thousends of people out there in countless Public Groups and private groups.
The messenger is not dead.
You usually don't want that strangers contact you in private for no reason at all.
If you want that people contact you in private you set up a @username and you enable that feature.
The messenger will not be killed by just allowing users to decide if they want or not being contacted by strangers.
https://t.me/tgbetachat/870721
More about this discussion on that group.
Line option to receive message request: https://t.me/appsdemensajeria/175
Someone with no username should be hidden, nobody can search them and their name can't be clicked if their messages are forwarded by default. —> maybe this one is better idea.
I am not really active in telegram anymore, I dont talk in public groups, didnt join any new group or chat here.
I can say hmm I didn't get any random PM for 2 months maybe?
---------------------------------
As a presonal note: I want to reiterate that this is a cry for help. There is not just 1 way of doing it and maybe my suggestion is not the best solution. BUT WE STILL HAVE AN ISSUE WITH PRIVATE MESSAGES THAT HAS NOT BEEN TAKED SERIOUSLY.
But I also need to disagree with some of your points.
"We already asked and made noise with this topic back in 2016 or 2017... Probably no one will give a f*** about this."
This is is wrong and basically defeats your point. Because if "no one gives a damn about this" - why suggesting this again then? You know it's not true, I don't think adding this sentence works in your favor, but I understand the saltiness.
"Telegram Team lives in a bubble for years, they see things from another perspective as a New User that starts with Telegram, enters it's first massive Public Group and then it gets countless messages from bad people."
I can guarantee you that Telegram Team is aware of the problem. Don't you think this was one of the reason for implementing Anonymous Admins? So people aren't bothered in private?
So let's try breaking down why Telegram never actually added ability to block upcoming messages, at least in my opinion: