socialMeter for Telegram

A Telegram member counter for your desk.

Your Telegram channel's member count, live on your desk, with what today added. It reads the count through a bot you make in a minute.

Build yours From $119

socialMeter on a black stand showing a sample Telegram channel members count

Sample numbers. Yours appear once it is set up.

On the screen

What it shows for Telegram.

The labels below are the ones printed on the device.

MEMBERS: Members of your public channel, from Telegram's bot API.
N TODAY: The green pill: channel members gained since the day's first reading, in your time zone.
NEXT MILESTONE: A bar to the next round number (1, 2 or 5 followed by zeros), with how far along you are.
Circle and dot: The circle empties until the next check. The dot is green while the number is live, amber while it shows the last reading, red when something needs a look.

Checks: Every 60 seconds.

What you need

Set up in a few minutes.

Needs a free key

It needs your channel username and a free bot token you make once. Your channel username and key stay on the device. No account with us, no app.

Find your channel username
Your public channel's username, without the t.me/ part. The @ is optional.exampleyourchannel
Add your bot to the channel
1. Telegram only tells a bot the member count when the bot is in the channel.
2. Open your channel, Manage Channel, Administrators, Add Admin, and add the bot you create below.
Get your bot token
1. In Telegram, message @BotFather and send /newbot.
2. Give it any name and username you like.
3. BotFather replies with a token like 123456:ABC-DEF.... Paste that into the key box.
4. Add the bot to your channel as an administrator (above), or the count stays at 0.
Plug it in and join its Wi-Fi
Power it with any USB-C cable. Scan the code on its screen (or join the Social Meter-XXXXXX network) and the setup page opens. If it does not, visit 192.168.4.1.
Choose Telegram and fill in one page
Pick Telegram from the list and type your channel username, then paste your key into the API-key box.
Pick your home Wi-Fi and save
Choose your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, type its password and tap Save. It restarts and shows your number within about 30 seconds.

Same device

Or count something else.

It counts one platform at a time. Switch from your phone whenever you like.

In use

Your count, while you create.

It sits by the mic and keeps counting while you work on the next one.

socialMeter counting GitHub followers on a developer desk

socialMeter showing Twitch viewers in a streaming setup

socialMeter counting Bluesky followers on a bookshelf desk

7 stand colours. Pick one to start your build.

FAQ

Questions.

Why does it need a bot?

Telegram only gives a channel's member count to a bot that is in the channel. You make one with BotFather in about a minute; it needs no permissions beyond being an admin.

Does it work for groups too?

It is built and tested for public channels with a username. That is the field the setup page asks for.

The count stays at 0. What is wrong?

Usually the bot is not an administrator of the channel yet. Add it under Manage Channel, Administrators, and the next check picks the count up.

Does it need my Telegram password?

No. It reads the count with the free key you make, never your password. The key stays on the device.