Refather Bot: build an anonymous bot

You run a blog or a channel, and your readers are shy about asking questions under their own name. Refather Bot helps you create your own bot for anonymous messages and questions and link it to your account without coding 🕵

The author of the project publishes Russian-language video tutorials showing how to put such a bot together in a few minutes. Everything starts with the /start command.

Why an anonymous bot

People write about personal things more readily when their name is hidden. That is why bloggers, teachers, psychologists, coaches, and community admins set up a separate bot for questions.

• Questions for a blogger. Followers ask what they would not dare to put in comments.
• Feedback. Students rate lessons more honestly when they do not sign.
• Confessions and ideas. A community sends suggestions you would otherwise have to fish out with polls.

How the constructor works

The idea is that you build a bot inside Telegram instead of writing code. You make a blank at Telegram's official bot-creation service, get a token, and hand it to the constructor.

Once connected, your bot accepts messages from people and forwards them to you without showing the sender. For detailed instructions, watch the author's videos.

A first launch step by step

1. Open Refather Bot and press /start.
2. Create a new bot with Telegram's official service and give it a clear name.
3. Copy the token you receive and paste it into the constructor.
4. Write a greeting and explain what people may ask about.
5. Test it from another account and share the link with your audience.

Anonymity: what to promise readers

The word "anonymous" carries responsibility. Explain that the bot owner does not see the sender's name, and do not promise more than actually works.

Guard the bot token like a password. Whoever gets it gains access to your bot and to the messages inside.

The dark side of anonymity

The same mechanism is sometimes used for harassment and insults. If you open such a bot to the public, expect some unpleasant messages.

• Set rules. State what is banned: threats, insults, other people's personal data.
• Do not feed provocations. You do not have to react publicly to rudeness.
• Remember the law. Threats and slander stay punishable even if the author is hidden.

Getting good questions instead of noise

An anonymous bot collects what you asked it to. If the greeting says "write anything", you will get everything.

Suggest a topic for the week and an example of a good question. Answer the best messages publicly: the audience sees the bot works and writes more willingly.

Who it suits

Channel authors, bloggers, craftspeople who take client questions, and teams collecting opinions. Anyone who wants their own bot but cannot code 🙂

If you need a bot with complicated logic, payments, and a database, a simple constructor may not fit: for that, hire a developer.