Telegram, like WhatsApp, requires a phone number to create an account, and shows that number to anyone who has it saved (unless you tighten your privacy settings after the fact). A lot of people — especially anyone managing multiple Telegram accounts for bots, communities, or testing — would rather not tie every account to their real number.
Steps
- Rent a number for Telegram from a provider with live availability — Telegram's own rate limits mean a number that already failed a Telegram verification recently may not work again immediately.
- Open Telegram, choose "Sign up", and enter the rented number with its country code.
- Telegram sends a login code by SMS (sometimes also via a call, but SMS is the default for a first-time number).
- Enter the code from your rental's status page to complete the account.
One thing to know
Telegram accounts are tied to the number at signup, and Telegram may occasionally re-send a login code to that same number later (e.g. if you log in from a new device). If you plan to keep using the account long-term, a monthly rental avoids losing access to that number's inbox in the meantime.
Tried this with sms-florin — real UK carrier numbers (not VoIP), automatic refund if the code never arrives, and a Telegram bot (@smsflorin_bot) if you'd rather not open a browser.
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