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29/10/2026
Checked 26 October 2026, includes the March 2026 poll update
How do you create a poll on Telegram?
Open a group or channel, tap the paperclip and choose Poll (on Telegram Desktop: the ⋮ menu › Create poll). Type a question, add 2 to 12 options, set the switches you need and send. A private chat with a person has no Poll option: use a small group, your Saved Messages for a draft, or a checklist.
- 12 options per poll
- 255 characters per question
- Open for up to 30 days
Which day should our weekly live Q&A move to?
Example poll with sample numbers. Tap an option to vote: the bubble fills and results appear, just like in Telegram.
Where can you make a Telegram poll?
Polls are built for chats where many people read the same messages. Telegram’s apps simply hide the Poll button where it cannot be used, which is why so many people search for it in a private chat.
Groups and supergroups
Any member can create one unless an admin turned off the Polls permission for members. Every setting is available here, including Show Who Voted and Allow Adding Options.
Channels
Admins who can post. Votes are always anonymous, so Show Who Voted and Allow Adding Options are not offered. Two channel-only switches appear instead: Restrict to Subscribers and Limit by Country.
Forum topics
Inside any topic of a forum group, as long as members may send polls.
Saved Messages
Build and test a poll privately, then forward it. A poll that shows voters cannot be forwarded to a channel.
Bot chats
You can send a poll to a bot, and bots send polls through the Bot API.
Private chat with a person
There is no Poll button, by design: Telegram’s Android and Desktop code only offer it in groups, channels, Saved Messages and bot chats. Ask in a small group instead, or send a checklist (Premium) to share tasks.
Channel direct messages
The direct-message inbox of a channel does not offer polls.
How do you create a poll, step by step?
- Open the group or channel
In a channel you need to be an admin who can post.
- Tap the paperclip
It sits next to the message field.
- Tap Poll
Swipe the row of buttons at the bottom if you do not see it.
- Write the question and options
Use Add an option for each answer, up to 12. You can attach a photo, video, link or location to the question or to an option.
- Set the switches under Settings
Show Who Voted, Allow Multiple Answers, Limit Duration and the rest. Section 03 shows what each one does.
- Tap Send
Long-press the send button to schedule the poll or send it without sound.
- Open the group or channel
Channel polls need an admin who can post.
- Tap the paperclip
Left of the message field.
- Tap Poll
It is in the bar at the bottom of the attachment menu.
- Type the question, then each option
Add each answer as its own option, up to 12.
- Choose your settings
The same switches as on Android. Channels show fewer of them.
- Send it
Labels can differ slightly between app versions, the order of the steps does not.
- Open the group or channel
Telegram Desktop on Windows, macOS or Linux.
- Click the ⋮ menu
Top right of the chat, next to the search icon.
- Choose Create poll
It only appears where you are allowed to send polls.
- Fill in the New poll window
Question, an optional description, then the options.
- Set the switches
Show Who Voted, Allow Revoting, Limit Duration and so on.
- Click Create
The poll is posted at once, or scheduled if you opened the menu from the scheduled messages view.
Which poll settings should you switch on?
The March 2026 update replaced the old three checkboxes with a full list of switches. Which ones you see depends on where you post, and some only work together. Flip them here and watch what your voters get.
Switch names as they appear in Telegram’s apps.
How do you make a quiz instead of a poll?
A quiz is a poll with a right answer. Switch on Set Correct Answer, then tap the correct option. Since the March 2026 update you can mark more than one correct option and allow revoting, which older guides say is impossible.
Add an explanation of up to 200 characters, with a photo or video if it helps. People who pick a wrong answer see it straight away, everyone else can open it with the lamp icon.
Need ten questions in a row, a timer per question and a leaderboard? Telegram’s own @QuizBot builds multi-question quizzes and shares them to groups and channels.
Which setting stops voters from changing their answer?
Revoting is the switch for changing a vote. With it off, the first tap is final, which suits quizzes and decisions.
Poll, quiz, checklist or survey bot: which one fits?
Pick what you need and the right tool lights up.
Poll
One question, 2 to 12 options, live results. Best for decisions and opinions in groups and channels.
Groups, channels
Quiz
A poll with one or more right answers and an explanation. Great for courses and channel engagement.
Groups, channels
Checklist
Tasks people tick off, added in July 2025. Premium users can send one to a group, a one-to-one chat or Saved Messages, with up to 30 items.
Also private chats
Survey or quiz bot
Several questions, text answers, timers and scores. @QuizBot for quizzes, a survey bot for forms. See our survey bot guide.
Anywhere a bot can post
Tip: for short written suggestions in a group, a normal poll with Allow Adding Options often beats a bot.
What happens after you send a poll?
It goes live
As the creator you can look at the results without voting. Everyone else sees results only after they vote, unless results are hidden.
People vote and change their minds
Retract Vote sits in the message menu while revoting is allowed. In a group poll that shows voters, you get a notification each time someone answers, with the option they chose.
New options may appear
With Allow Adding Options on, members can suggest answers. Whoever added an option can remove it within about 5 minutes, the poll creator can remove it at any time.
It closes
At the deadline you set, or when you choose Stop Poll. Telegram warns that this “cannot be undone”: nobody can vote again, even you.
You read the numbers
View Stats shows a vote timeline. Active and past polls are also collected in a Polls tab on the group or channel profile, so old results stay easy to find.
What are Telegram’s poll limits?
Options per poll. At least 2. The number comes from Telegram’s server setting, so it can change without an app update.
Characters in the question in the apps. Bots may use up to 300.
Characters per option. Keep options short enough to read in one line on a phone.
Characters in a quiz explanation. A photo or video can be attached.
Longest time limit: 2,628,000 seconds. Switching Limit Duration on starts at 24 hours, Custom lets you pick a date.
Countries in Limit by Country, matched to the country of each voter’s phone number.
Membership age for Restrict to Subscribers: voters must have joined at least 24 hours before the poll was posted.
Custom emoji in the question and options need Telegram Premium. Polls and quizzes themselves are free, checklists need Premium.
Limits read from Telegram’s client configuration and Android source code on 26 October 2026.
Why can’t I create, vote in or see a poll?
No Poll button in a private chat
Why: polls are not offered in one-to-one chats. Fix: make a small group with that person, or send a checklist if you have Premium.
No Poll button in a group
Why: an admin turned off the Polls permission for members. Fix: ask an admin, or an admin re-enables it under the group’s Permissions.
Allow Adding Options will not switch on
Why: it needs Show Who Voted on and Set Correct Answer off, and channels do not offer it. Fix: change those two switches, or post in a group.
“Public polls can’t be forwarded to channels”
Why: a poll that shows voters cannot go to a channel, where votes are always anonymous. Fix: create a new anonymous poll in the channel.
“Only subscribers who joined more than 24 hours ago can vote”
Why: the channel switched on Restrict to Subscribers. Fix: none for this poll, it protects the vote from sudden newcomers.
“Only users from … can vote”
Why: Limit by Country is on, and it checks the country of your phone number, not where you are.
Cannot change my vote
Why: Allow Revoting is off, common in quizzes. Retract Vote only appears when revoting is allowed.
No results shown
Why: you have not voted yet, or Hide results is on and the poll is still open.
Cannot see who voted
Why: it is an anonymous poll. Nobody can see names, not even admins, and channel polls are always anonymous.
How do you write a poll people actually answer?
- Good
- Bad
- OK
Vague question, options overlap, and the result tells you nothing you can act on.
- Short tips (1 minute)
- Step-by-step guides
- Live Q&A sessions
- Something else (add it below)
One decision, options that do not overlap, a deadline in the question, and Allow Adding Options for ideas you did not think of.
Does nobody vote in your channel polls?
A poll only works when people see it. For a new public channel, these two help the post get seen. They do not change how Telegram counts votes, and with Restrict to Subscribers on, members who joined less than 24 hours before the poll cannot vote.
Telegram polls: frequently asked questions
Can I create a poll in a private chat on Telegram?
No. Telegram’s apps only offer polls in groups, channels, your Saved Messages and chats with bots. For one other person, create a small group, or send a checklist if you have Telegram Premium.
Can people see what I voted in a Telegram poll?
Only if the creator switched on Show Who Voted. The label above the question tells you: “Anonymous Poll” means nobody, not even admins, sees names. Polls in channels are always anonymous.
How do I change or remove my vote?
Open the poll message menu and choose Retract Vote, then vote again. The option is missing when the creator turned off Allow Revoting, which is common in quizzes.
How many options can a Telegram poll have?
Up to 12 options and at least 2. Each option can be up to 100 characters and the question up to 255 characters in the apps.
Can I edit a poll after sending it?
You cannot rewrite the question or existing options in the apps. You can stop the poll and send a corrected one. If Allow Adding Options is on, members can still add new options to a group poll.
How do I close a Telegram poll?
Open the poll menu and choose Stop Poll, or set Limit Duration before sending so it closes on its own. Stopping cannot be undone.
What is the difference between a poll and a quiz on Telegram?
A quiz is a poll with Set Correct Answer switched on. It marks right and wrong answers, can have more than one correct option and shows your explanation to people who answer wrong.
Can a Telegram channel poll be limited to real subscribers?
Yes. Restrict to Subscribers lets only members who joined at least 24 hours before the poll vote, and Limit by Country can restrict voting to up to 12 countries based on phone numbers.
Related Telegram guides
How we checked this guide
Checked on 26 October 2026 against Telegram’s March 2026 poll update, the poll pages of Telegram’s developer documentation and client configuration, and the poll code in Telegram’s Android and Desktop apps (where we confirmed that the Poll option is not offered in private chats and which switches channels hide). iPhone steps follow the same menus and labels may differ slightly between versions.
Sources: Telegram blog, March 2026, Polls 2.0, January 2020, Checklists, July 2025, Polls and quizzes API, client configuration, QuizBot, Telegram for Android source, Telegram Desktop source.
Written by the AddTelegramMember team, a Telegram growth service since 2019.