Shieldy: Anti-Spam for Groups

You open your group chat and there are ten fresh "members" pushing casino ads. Shieldy exists for exactly this moment: it greets every newcomer with a captcha and keeps out bots that cannot pass it. 🛡

Group admins have known the bot for years, and its profile says just one line: Shieldy fights Telegram spam.

How newcomer checks work

The idea is simple. When a person joins a group, the bot shows a test. A real user passes in seconds, while a spam account usually does not.

If the test is not passed within the time limit, the member is removed. That way ad blasts never reach the chat.

• Captcha. The type of test can be changed in settings.
• Time limit. The admin sets how many seconds a newcomer gets to answer.
• Restrictions. People who fail can be banned or have their rights limited.

Commands an admin will use

Setup happens through commands right in the group. These are the handy ones.

• /captcha. Pick the type of test.
• /timeLimit. Set the time allowed for passing.
• /lock. Close entry for newcomers.
• /trust. Mark a person as trusted so the bot skips them.
• /strict. Tighten the rules for new members.
• /underAttack. A mode for spam raids: the bot automatically kicks everyone who joins.

Attack mode and when to use it

Spammers sometimes arrive in waves of a hundred accounts. In those minutes a plain captcha is not enough, and attack mode saves the chat.

Just remember to switch it off. Otherwise real people get thrown out too. ⚠️

Weak spots worth knowing

No captcha is perfect. Advanced spammers register ordinary accounts and run them by hand or with scripts, and those pass the test.

Users have reported that the check does not always appear, and that someone who fails it is hard to bring back from a ban. Keep a manual way to unblock a member.

Setup in five minutes

1. Add the bot to your group.
2. Make it an admin with rights to delete messages and ban members.
3. Choose a captcha type and time limit.
4. Test it by joining from a spare account.
5. Add trusted people to the exceptions list.

What else keeps a chat clean

The bot works best alongside human moderation. Agree on which admin covers the night hours, when spammers are busiest, and how you pass block information to each other.

Write rules, pin them and appoint a couple of helpers.

If you need protection from smarter spammers, look for tools that judge the messages themselves, only the entry. A captcha is the first line, not the whole defense. 🔐

Who Shieldy suits

Admins of open groups and community chats where spam bots show up often. For a small private chat where you invite people personally, this protection is usually overkill.