JISOU: Search Telegram Communities

Telegram holds millions of groups and channels, yet its built-in search misses plenty. JISOU (known in Chinese as 极搜) searches for groups, channels, videos and music by keyword and tries to surface what you were after, rather than the first match. 🔍

Its interface and main audience are Chinese-speaking, but you can send queries in other languages too.

What the search covers

The idea is simple: type a word or phrase and get a list of matching communities and media. The bot calls itself an essential search engine for Telegram, and you can only judge that by trying it.

• Groups and channels. Find communities by topic, such as a hobby, a city or a profession.
• Videos. Material posted in public chats and channels.
• Music. Tracks from public sources, searched by title or artist.

Five commands in the menu

The menu is short and most labels are in Chinese characters. Here is what sits behind them.

• /reso. A ranking of popular queries, the "hot search" list.
• /daoh. A group directory, a catalogue of communities.
• /help. A short guide to searching.
• /more. Extra functions.
• /privacy. The privacy policy.

If the characters put you off, turn on Telegram's translation and just tap the buttons.

How to search so you actually find things

1. Start short. One or two words return more options than a long phrase.
2. Try other languages. For Chinese-speaking communities, a Chinese query works better.
3. Read before joining. Open a group and see what people do there first.
4. Check the ranking. Popular queries show what people are looking for right now.

What to keep in mind

A search engine does not vet what sits inside the channels it finds. Results can include pirated material, ads and scam chats that promise easy income or "private" giveaways.

Never enter card details there, follow links from unfamiliar chats, or send money for access. What you download is your responsibility.

If privacy matters to you, read the policy via /privacy and keep personal details out of search queries.

Wondering what people discuss right now? Open the popular queries ranking, which is quicker than scrolling dozens of channels by hand. Once inside a group, read the pinned message first: it usually holds the rules.

Who it is for

JISOU helps people looking for Chinese-speaking communities who want groups on a topic quickly. For everyone else it is more of an add-on to ordinary search than a replacement.

Try a few queries and compare them with your usual method. Ten minutes will tell you whether it suits you.