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What is a Telegram spoiler, and how do you send one?
A spoiler hides part of a message, or a whole photo or video, under moving dust until the reader taps it. For text, select the words and choose Spoiler in the formatting menu (Ctrl+Shift+P in Telegram Desktop). For photos and videos, select them in the attachment menu, open the ⋯ menu and choose Hide with Spoiler.
- Text spoilerssince 30 Dec 2021
- Photo and video spoilerssince 30 Dec 2022
- Not a privacy toolanyone in the chat can tap
Did you finish the finale last night?
Yes. I still can’t believe . Wow.
Guess what I baked for the rewatch
Quiz night answer:
What exactly does a spoiler hide, and from whom?
Leaked ending, chapter 9: the twins swap places
-
A blurred version of the photo or video plus moving dust. Telegram’s apps offer it for photos and videos. Bots can also cover GIF animations.
-
Any run of characters in a message or a caption. It is saved as a
spoilerformatting entity, so it survives forwarding and editing. -
Only what you mark is hidden. The rest of the caption, the sender, the time and reactions show as usual. That visible part is your warning label.
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A tap uncovers it on that reader’s screen only. Nobody else’s copy changes, and the sender is not told who looked.
A Telegram spoiler is a formatting option that covers selected text, or a photo or video, with an animated layer that the reader removes with one tap. It hides content from a glance. It does not hide it from people in the chat.
How do you hide text with a spoiler in each Telegram app?
The option is called Spoiler everywhere. Where it sits changes by app. Pick yours.
- Type the message
- Select the wordsdouble-tap, then drag the handles
- Format
- Spoiler
- Send
The covered words show as dust in your input field before you send, so you can check the range.
- Type the message
- Select the wordslong-press, then drag
- menuin the selection bar
- Spoiler
- Send
Choose Regular from the same menu to remove the formatting before sending.
Select the words and press Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on a Mac). Or right-click the selection and choose Formatting then Spoiler. Ctrl+Shift+N clears all formatting from the selection.
This is Telegram Desktop for Windows, macOS and Linux. We read the shortcut in its source code.
- Type the message
- Select the words
- formatting barappears above the selection
- Spoiler
- Send
Both web versions (web.telegram.org/a and /k) have the spoiler button in that floating bar.
Wrap the words in two vertical bars on each side and send. In our reading of the source code, Telegram for Android and Telegram Desktop turn ||text|| into a spoiler. We found no such shortcut in the iPhone app, so use the Format menu there.
Need bold, italic or monospace too? Our bold and italic text guide covers the rest of the formatting menu.
How do you send a photo or video as a spoiler?
Select the media, then flip one switch for all of it. Try it: pick some items, then open the menu.
Open the menu with the three dots, then choose Hide With Spoiler.
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iPhone and iPadPaperclip, select, ⋯ menu,
Hide With Spoiler
. Undo:Disable Spoiler
. -
AndroidPaperclip, select, ⋮ menu,
Hide with spoiler
. Undo:Remove spoiler
. -
Telegram DesktopAttach or paste, then right-click Send in the send window and pick
Hide with Spoiler
. It applies to every photo and video in that window. -
Telegram Web AThe menu in the attachment window has the same switch.
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Bots
has_spoiler: true, per photo, video or GIF.
- Files sent as documents. Send as a photo or video instead.
- Stickers and voice messages.
- Stories. None of the apps’ text lists contain a spoiler option for them.
- Paid media. It is already blurred until someone pays in Stars, and the Bot API has no spoiler field for it.
What does the other person see in the chat, the chat list and notifications?
This is the part most guides skip, and the reason a spoiler works: the cover follows the message outside the chat too.
Finale:
Covered until tapped, on every app.
Telegram says spoilers stay hidden in the chat list.
Android swaps every hidden character for Braille dot patterns, and blurs a covered photo’s preview with the dust drawn on top.
Telegram already uses spoilers for you. The Android app covers the login code in messages from Telegram’s official account, and Telegram Desktop does the same in previews and notifications. Someone glancing at your screen sees dust, not the code. We found this in the apps’ source code, not in any announcement.
Is a spoiler the right tool, or do you need something stronger?
Telegram has four ways to hold content back. They solve different problems. Tell us your goal.
Use a spoiler. It keeps the surprise for people who scroll past, and anyone who wants to know taps once. Put the topic in the visible part, for example “Finale spoiler:”.
“Partly”: media with a self-destruct timer cannot be forwarded, but a second phone can still photograph the screen. Paid media is about charging, so pair it with restrict saving content if you need both. Restrict saving content is explained in our guide to restricting forwarding.
How do bots and developers send spoilers?
The Bot API supports text spoilers since version 5.6 (30 Dec 2021) and media spoilers since 6.4 (30 Dec 2022).
parse_mode: "MarkdownV2"
text: "Today's answer: ||Ulaanbaatar||"parse_mode: "HTML"
text: "Today's answer: <tg-spoiler>Ulaanbaatar</tg-spoiler>"
# also valid: <span class="tg-spoiler">...</span>text: "Today's answer: Ulaanbaatar"
entities: [{"type": "spoiler", "offset": 16, "length": 11}]# sendMediaGroup: cover only the first photo
media: [
{"type": "photo", "media": "attach://ending", "has_spoiler": true},
{"type": "photo", "media": "attach://poster"}
]Where has_spoiler works: sendPhoto, sendVideo, sendAnimation, and the InputMediaPhoto, InputMediaVideo and InputMediaAnimation items of an album. Each album item has its own flag, so a bot can mix covered and open items.
Reading spoilers: an incoming message with covered media has has_media_spoiler set, and covered text arrives as a spoiler entity.
Not for paid media: InputPaidMediaPhoto and InputPaidMediaVideo have no spoiler field.
Which spoiler mistakes and myths should you avoid?
Anyone in the chat reveals it with one tap, and forwarding keeps the spoiler, not a lock. For control, turn on restrict saving content, or use a self-destruct timer in a private chat.
“Finale spoiler:” or “Quiz answer:” outside the cover tells people what they are about to see. A fully covered message gets skipped.
The official apps all draw the same moving dust. If the dust is still, the reader turned off Animated spoiler effect in Power Usage (Android) or Battery and Animations (Telegram Desktop).
The spoiler switch only appears for compressed photos and videos.
The cover hides the image, but only your caption says why. “Injury photo from the match” outside the spoiler lets people choose.
Do spoiler posts in your channel get tapped but go quiet?
Film, series, sports and quiz channels use spoilers as the hook. Reactions under that post show the next reader it was worth the tap. We deliver Telegram reactions to one post, and real members to public channels.
Telegram spoiler questions, answered
Can the sender see who revealed a spoiler?
No. Revealing happens on the reader’s own screen. Telegram does not send a receipt for it, and other people still see the cover.
Does a spoiler stop people from saving or forwarding?
No. A spoiler only covers content at a glance. Readers can still copy, save or forward it, and the spoiler formatting goes along with the forward. To block that, use restrict saving content in a group or channel.
What is the spoiler shortcut in Telegram Desktop?
Select the text and press Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+Shift+P on a Mac. Ctrl+Shift+N removes all formatting from the selection. You can also type ||text|| and send it.
Can I put a spoiler on a file, GIF, sticker or story?
In Telegram’s apps, only photos and videos can be covered, and only when sent as media rather than as files. Bots can also cover GIF animations. We found no spoiler option for stickers, voice messages or stories.
Can I add or remove a spoiler after sending?
For text, edit the message and change the formatting: select the words and choose Spoiler, or choose Regular to remove it. For a photo or video, the reliable way is to delete the message and send it again with the setting you want.
Why is the spoiler dust not moving on my phone?
The animation is switched off in power saving. On Android, open Power Usage and turn Animated spoiler effect back on. In Telegram Desktop, it is under Battery and Animations. The content is still covered either way.
Do spoilers stay hidden in notifications?
Telegram says yes, in notifications and in the chat list. On Android, hidden characters are replaced with Braille dot patterns, and a covered photo’s notification preview is blurred. The iPhone app leaves the picture out of the notification when the media is covered.
Can bots send spoilers?
Yes. Use ||text|| in MarkdownV2, the tg-spoiler tag in HTML, or a spoiler entity. For media, pass has_spoiler: true with sendPhoto, sendVideo, sendAnimation or an album item.
Which guides go well with spoilers?
How we checked this guide. On 24 October 2026 we read the menu labels and message code of Telegram for Android, Telegram for iOS, Telegram Desktop and Telegram Web A, the Bot API documentation, and Telegram’s announcements of text spoilers (30 December 2021) and hidden media (30 December 2022). Written by the AddTelegramMember team, a Telegram growth service since 2019.
