How to Extract Telegram Group Members - the Short Answer

To extract Telegram group members, you need access to Telegram's official MTProto API. The fastest way is to use a purpose-built tool like Telegram Scrap, which connects to the Telegram API on your behalf and exports member data - name, username, and phone number - directly into a downloadable CSV file. No coding, no Python environment, no risk of getting your account banned for scraping. The whole process takes under three minutes from sign-up to CSV download.

If you want the technical details, a comparison of every available method, and a full step-by-step walkthrough, keep reading.

Why People Extract Telegram Group Members

Telegram has quietly become one of the most valuable audience databases on the internet. With over 900 million monthly active users as of 2024, thousands of active public groups exist in every niche - crypto traders, SaaS founders, local business communities, job seekers, gamers, and more.

Marketers and growth teams extract Telegram group member lists for:

Outreach campaigns - reaching targeted audiences directly via Telegram DMs or phone number lookup
Lead generation - building contact lists from niche communities (crypto, real estate, B2B tech)
Market research - understanding the size and activity of a competitor's audience
Community migration - moving members from one group or channel to your own

The challenge is that Telegram doesn't offer a native "export members" button. You have to go through the API - or resort to riskier methods.

The Three Methods: An Honest Comparison

Before diving into the walkthrough, here is a clear-eyed comparison of every realistic approach.

Method	Technical skill required	Data completeness	Risk of ban	Export to CSV	Time to first export
Manual copy-paste	None	Very low (visible names only)	None	No (manual work)	30–60 min for 100 users
Python script (Telethon)	High (Python, pip, API setup)	High	Medium–High	Yes (custom code)	2–4 hours setup
Telegram Scrap	None	High (name, username, phone)	Very low (official API)	Yes (one click)	Under 3 minutes

Manual copy-paste

Inside any Telegram group, you can open the Members list and scroll through it. You can manually note down names and usernames. This works for groups of 50 people. It is completely unscalable past that, captures zero phone numbers, and produces no structured file.

Python script with Telethon

Telethon is an open-source Python library that wraps the Telegram MTProto API. Dozens of GitHub repositories offer scripts that call client.get_participants() and dump results to a CSV.

This approach works - but it comes with real friction:

You need Python 3.8+, pip, and a virtual environment
You must register a Telegram API app at my.telegram.org to get an api_id and api_hash
The script must run on a machine where your Telegram account is authenticated
Telegram imposes flood-wait limits: if you pull too many members too fast, your account gets temporarily restricted - or banned outright if Telegram flags the behavior as automated abuse
Phone numbers are only returned for contacts; non-contacts return an empty field unless your account has specific trust levels

For a developer who does this once a week, Telethon is fine. For a marketer who needs results today, it is a significant barrier.

Telegram Scrap - official API, no code

Telegram Scrap uses the same MTProto API as the Telethon approach, but wraps it in a managed, rate-limit-aware service. You authenticate once, enter the group link or username, choose your extraction tier, and download a CSV. The service handles API session management, flood-wait backoff, and phone number resolution on its side.

Step-by-Step: Extract Telegram Group Members with Telegram Scrap

Here is the exact process from zero to CSV.

Step 1 - Create your account

Go to telegramscrap.com and sign up with your email. Account creation is free.

Step 2 - Choose your extraction type

Two extraction types are available on all plans:

Admin Extract: Extracts the administrator and moderator list of the group. Ideal if you want to identify who runs communities in your niche.
Full Member Extract: Extracts up to 10,000 members including name, Telegram username, and phone number (where available via the API). Ideal for outreach and lead generation.

Both types are included in every subscription plan. Plans start at $29/month with a 30-day free trial.

Step 3 - Enter the group link

Paste the public group link or @username into the extraction field. For example: t.me/yournichegroupname or @cryptoleads2024.

Note: Telegram Scrap works on public groups and groups where your Telegram account is already a member. The Telegram API enforces this rule - no tool can bypass it legally.

Step 4 - Connect your Telegram account (one-time)

On first use, you will be asked to authenticate via your Telegram phone number. This is the same OAuth-style flow used by official Telegram clients - Telegram Scrap never stores your password. A verification code is sent to your Telegram app.

Step 5 - Run the extraction

Click Extract. Depending on group size, extraction takes between 15 seconds and 3 minutes. A progress indicator shows the current count.

Step 6 - Download your CSV

Once complete, click Download CSV. The file contains the following columns:

user_id, first_name, last_name, username, phone, is_bot, premium

Open it in Excel, Google Sheets, or import directly into your CRM.

What Data Can You Actually Extract?

This is the most common question - and the answer depends on the API, not the tool.

Always available (for all members):

Telegram user ID (unique, permanent)
First name
Last name (if set)
Username (if set - roughly 60–70% of users have one)
Whether the account is a bot
Whether the account has Telegram Premium

Conditionally available:

Phone number - the Telegram API only returns a phone number if the member's privacy settings allow it, or if you share mutual contacts with them. On large public groups, you can typically expect phone numbers for 15–40% of users depending on the group's demographics and geography. Groups with more users from regions like Russia, Ukraine, and parts of Southeast Asia tend to have higher phone number visibility.

Never available via the official API:

Message history of individual users (without admin rights)
Private profile photos of users who have restricted visibility
Data from private groups you are not a member of

This is not a limitation of Telegram Scrap - it is the boundary drawn by Telegram's MTProto API. Any tool claiming to extract phone numbers for 100% of group members is either lying or using an unofficial scraping method that violates Telegram's Terms of Service. See [Telegram API vs Scraper] for a full breakdown of the legal risks.

Is Extracting Telegram Members Legal?

This is a nuanced question that depends on your jurisdiction and your intended use.

Using the official Telegram API to retrieve data from public groups is generally permissible under Telegram's Terms of Service, as long as you are not:

Sending spam or bulk unsolicited messages
Harvesting data for the purpose of building shadow profiles without consent
Violating the data protection laws of the country where your targets reside

GDPR (EU): If you are contacting EU residents, you need a lawful basis for processing their data. Telegram's public membership of a group is generally not sufficient consent for direct marketing. Use extracted data to research audiences - be careful about using it for cold outreach to EU contacts without a proper basis.

CAN-SPAM / TCPA (US): Phone-based outreach using extracted data falls under telemarketing regulations. Consult a lawyer before running SMS campaigns from extracted lists.

The bottom line: Telegram Scrap gives you the data via the official, legal API. What you do with that data is your responsibility. We recommend using it for research and warm outreach to audiences who are likely to recognize your brand from a shared community.

For a deeper comparison of the legal landscape, read [What data can you extract from Telegram].

Tips to Get More Phone Numbers From Your Export

Because phone number visibility is user-controlled, the following tactics can increase your yield before you run an extraction:

Join the group yourself and stay active: Telegram is more likely to share phone numbers when you share mutual contacts or have interacted in the same channels. Being an active member for a few days before extracting can increase phone number resolution.
Target groups with less privacy-conscious users: Crypto trading groups, job boards, and business networking groups tend to attract users who have phone numbers publicly visible, because they want to be contacted.
Use the user ID + username combination: Even without a phone number, a Telegram username allows you to reach someone directly via DM. Many outreach tools accept @username as a sufficient contact identifier.
Cross-reference with LinkedIn or Apollo: Export your CSV, then use an enrichment tool to match usernames or names to fuller contact profiles.

FAQ

Can I extract members from a private Telegram group?

Yes, but only if your Telegram account is already a member of that group. The Telegram API requires group membership to retrieve the member list. You cannot extract members from a private group you have not joined.

How many members can I extract at once?

The Full Member Extract tier on Telegram Scrap supports up to 10,000 members per extraction. Telegram's API itself caps get_participants requests at around 10,000 users for most group types, so this represents the practical ceiling for a single extraction.

Will my Telegram account get banned for using this?

Telegram Scrap uses the official MTProto API with rate-limiting built in, which significantly reduces ban risk compared to raw Python scripts. However, Telegram does monitor for unusual API activity. We recommend using a Telegram account that is at least 30 days old and associated with a real phone number. Do not run multiple extractions per hour.

Does Telegram Scrap work on Telegram channels (not just groups)?

Telegram differentiates between groups (bidirectional conversation) and channels (broadcast-only). The Telegram API provides subscriber lists for channels only to their owners and admins. Telegram Scrap can extract admin-level data from channels, but the Full Member Extract for channels requires that you are the channel owner or an authorized admin.

Is there a free trial or refund policy?

Yes - all plans include a 30-day free trial. No charge until the trial ends. If an extraction returns zero results due to a technical error on our side (not an API limitation), contact support via the dashboard.

The Bottom Line

If you need to extract Telegram group members for marketing, research, or outreach, you have three realistic paths: manual (painful and incomplete), Python/Telethon (powerful but technical and ban-prone), or Telegram Scrap (fast, safe, and no code required).

For anyone who values their time and their Telegram account's health, the math is simple: a Telegram Scrap subscription is cheaper than even one hour of developer time to set up and debug a Telethon script, and far cheaper than the cost of getting your main Telegram account banned.

Start your free trial → telegramscrap.com

Related reading: [Telegram API vs Scraper - What's the Difference and Why It Matters] | [What Data Can You Extract from Telegram Groups?]