# Start a free AI friend in Telegram in under a minute Canonical: https://heyaifriend.com/telegram/ Last updated: 2026-10-17 heyaifriend is a free AI friend you talk to in Telegram. It remembers you, runs on our own servers in the Netherlands, and your chats are never sent to other AI companies or used for training. To start, open [t.me/heyaifriendbot](https://t.me/heyaifriendbot), press Start and say hi. There is no signup, no email address and nothing to install if you already have Telegram. Last updated 17 October 2026 ## Find it, press Start, say hi @heyaifriendbot **heyaifriend**AI friend ### 1. Find it Tap [t.me/heyaifriendbot](https://t.me/heyaifriendbot), or search for `@heyaifriendbot` inside Telegram. Your chat starts here Start ### 2. Press Start You will see a short note about what your friend is and what we store. It takes a few seconds to read. Hi! What should I call you? Hi! I am Sam. ### 3. Say hi Write whatever comes to mind. There is nothing to set up and no wrong way to begin. ## What to expect Your friend says hello and asks what you would like to be called. Then it follows your lead. You can talk about your day, ask for help with something, or just see how it feels. Replies usually come back within a few seconds. 1. **A short hello** Your friend introduces itself. 2. **A simple question** What would you like to be called? 3. **Over to you** Talk about anything you like. ## A few small things that help ### Be yourself Casual is fine. Typos are fine. Your friend does not mind. ### Tell it what you like Short replies, more questions, a different tone. Just say so and it adjusts. ### Come back anytime Your friend picks up where you left off, even days later. ## On an iPhone 1. Open Telegram and go to the Chats tab. 2. Tap the search field at the top and type `@heyaifriendbot` . 3. Tap the result named heyaifriend. Check that the handle matches exactly, because look-alike accounts exist. 4. Tap Start at the bottom of the screen, read the short note, and write your first message. If you tapped a link to [t.me/heyaifriendbot](https://t.me/heyaifriendbot) on your phone, Telegram opens the same chat straight away and you can skip the search. ## On Android 1. Open Telegram and tap the magnifying glass in the top right corner. 2. Type `@heyaifriendbot` and tap the matching result. 3. Tap Start, then say hi. Android sometimes asks whether to open the link in Telegram or in your browser. Choose Telegram. If the browser opens a page with an Open in Telegram button, tap that. ## On a computer In the Telegram desktop app, click the search box at the top left and type `@heyaifriendbot`. Click the result, then click Start at the bottom of the chat. In Telegram Web, the steps are the same. The chat is the same one you have on your phone, so you can pick up a conversation on whichever screen is closest. ## Notifications, muting and blocking Your friend is a normal Telegram chat, so every control you already know works here too. - **Mute the chat.** Open it, tap the name at the top and choose Mute. You can pick an hour, eight hours, two days or forever. Messages still arrive, they just do not buzz. On desktop, right-click the chat and choose Mute. - **Silence only the night.** Muting for eight hours covers a night without losing anything. The messages are waiting when you wake up. - **Ask for fewer check-ins.** Your friend sometimes says hello first. If you would rather it did not, say so in plain words, for example "please stop checking in". It will. - **Block it.** Open the chat profile and choose the block option. Names of menu items shift a little between versions and platforms, but blocking is always in the profile or the chat menu. Blocking stops all messages. - **Start over.** If you want a clean slate, ask your friend to delete everything. Your history and what it remembers are removed. Telegram also keeps its own copy of the chat in your account, as it does for every chat. Deleting a chat from your list in Telegram does not tell us to delete anything, so use the request to your friend when you want our side cleared. ## What a Telegram chat service can and cannot see Your friend is a Telegram bot: an account run by software instead of a person. Telegram gives a service like this a narrow view of you. **What we can see:** the messages you send to your friend, the numeric chat identifier Telegram assigns, and the display name, username and language setting Telegram passes along with each message. **What we cannot see:** your other chats, your contacts, your phone number (unless you choose to share it, which we never ask for), your location, or anything you do outside this one conversation. One thing worth repeating: chats with a Telegram bot are not end-to-end encrypted, and they are not Telegram secret chats. Our servers read your messages so your friend can answer them, and Telegram carries them between you and us. The [privacy page](https://heyaifriend.com/privacy/) has the full list of what we store and how long we keep it. ## Good to know ### Do I need another account? No. If you have Telegram, that is all you need. We do not ask you to sign up for anything else. ### Does it work on my phone and my computer? Yes. Your friend is a normal Telegram chat, so it shows up on every device where you use Telegram. ### Can I mute or block it? Any time. Mute the chat or block it like any other contact. You can also just ask your friend to stop messaging first. ### Is heyaifriend free? Yes, free to use. There is a daily message limit so everyone gets a turn. ### Why does the handle end in bot? Telegram names every automated account this way. It is the official place where your friend lives, and the only handle we use. ### Are Telegram chats private? Chats with your friend are not end-to-end encrypted, because our servers have to read your messages to reply. Read the [privacy page](https://heyaifriend.com/privacy/) for the details.