Telemetry Data Labs is a Telegram search engine and analytics platform designed to index public channels, groups, and messages. Co-founded by Ari Ben Am, an open-source intelligence analyst and adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, the platform aims to provide researchers, journalists, and analysts with enhanced visibility into the Telegram ecosystem (Foundation for Defense of Democracies, n.d.; The Cipher Brief, n.d.). The platform addresses the limitations of Telegram’s native search capabilities by offering full-text boolean search across an index of over 1 billion messages and millions of public channels (Telemetry Data Labs, n.d.a).
The platform has recently gained recognition within the open-source intelligence (OSINT) community. It was featured in The OSINT Newsletter’s Tools Library and highlighted in Issue #60 of the newsletter, which focuses on tools and tactics for tracking disinformation, fraud, and extremism (The OSINT Newsletter, n.d.; Creps, 2024). Additionally, Telemetry is included in the Bellingcat Online Investigation Toolkit and Michael Bazzell’s OSINT Techniques: Resources for Uncovering Online Information (11th Edition) (Bellingcat, n.d.; Telemetry Data Labs, n.d.b).
Platform Capabilities and Architecture
Telemetry operates by creating an ethically sourced database of public Telegram content, explicitly excluding private groups or encrypted chats (Telemetry Data Labs, n.d.a). The platform is structured around three core pillars: search, analytics, and programmatic access.
Search Functionality
The search engine supports advanced boolean logic, allowing users to combine clauses using operators such as AND, OR, GROUP, PHRASE, and WILDCARD (Telemetry Data Labs, n.d.a). This functionality enables precise queries across a vast dataset. Users can pivot their searches by channel, language, time, and engagement metrics.
Analytics and Visualization
Telemetry provides detailed analytics for individual groups and channels. The analytics dashboard visualizes message timelines, member growth, post activity over time, and engagement curves (Ben Am, 2024). The October 2024 update introduced a dedicated Analytics button, an Advanced Search menu with time-range and channel filtering, a “Request Chats” feature enabling users to submit public channels for indexing, and a Search in Chat function supporting boolean queries within a specific group or channel (Ben Am, 2024). Additional visualization features include mention and forward graphs, post-type breakdowns, and word clouds that display frequently appearing terms.
Data Collection and API Access
For programmatic access, Telemetry offers a REST API providing endpoints for pagination, search index access, and channel analytics retrieval (Telemetry Data Labs, n.d.a). The company also provides custom data collection services, including targeted channel harvesting, automated expansion using forward graph extraction, and structured delivery in JSON, CSV, or database-ready formats (Telemetry Data Labs, n.d.c).
Application in Threat Intelligence and OSINT
Telegram has increasingly become an operational layer for cyber threat activity, hosting actors involved in hacktivism, ransomware distribution, initial access brokerage, and malware-as-a-service (CYFIRMA, 2026). The platform reached 1 billion monthly active users as of March 2025, with approximately 2.5 million new users joining daily (DemandSage, 2026). Telemetry’s index is utilized by professionals to monitor these ecosystems.
The OSINT Newsletter’s Tools Library describes Telemetry as sitting “mainly in the deep reconnaissance, collection, and analysis phases of the OSINT workflow, specifically for Telegram ecosystem discovery” (The OSINT Newsletter, n.d.). Documented applications include documenting extremist messaging, identifying coordinated campaigns, tracing repost networks, analyzing narrative spread, identifying public recruitment efforts, and mapping influence ecosystems.
The Bellingcat toolkit entry notes that ethical use requires researchers to be mindful of privacy expectations, acknowledge potential bias in collected data, and consider the risk of amplifying extremist messaging through publication (Bellingcat, n.d.).
Pricing and Accessibility
| Plan | Price | Tokens/Month | Historical Data | API Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | 15 daily searches | Limited | No |
| Basic | $29/month | 200 tokens | Up to 4 years | No |
| Pro | $99/month | 500 tokens | All historical data | Yes |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | All historical data | Full |
References
Bellingcat. (n.d.). Telemetry. Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit. Telemetry | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit
Ben Am, A. (2024, November 11). October update. Telemetry Data Labs Blog. October Update
Creps, J. (2024, December 19). The OSINT Newsletter - Issue #60. The OSINT Newsletter. The OSINT Newsletter - Issue #60 - The OSINT Newsletter
CYFIRMA. (2026, February 26). Telegram as the new operational layer of cyber threat activity. https://www.cyfirma.com/research/telegram-as-the-new-operational-layer-of-cyber-threat-activity/
DemandSage. (2026, April 6). Telegram users statistics 2026 [latest global data]. Telegram Users Statistics 2026 [Latest Global Data]
Foundation for Defense of Democracies. (n.d.). Ari Ben Am. https://www.fdd.org/team/ari-ben-am/
The Cipher Brief. (n.d.). Ari Ben Am. https://www.thecipherbrief.com/experts/ari-ben-am
The OSINT Newsletter. (n.d.). Telemetry. OSINT Tools Library. Telemetry | OSINT Tools Library
Telemetry Data Labs. (n.d.a). Telemetry: Advanced Telegram search engine & analytics. https://www.telemetryapp.io/
Telemetry Data Labs. (n.d.b). Telemetry advanced Telegram search, insights and analytics. Telemetry Product Features: Advanced Telegram Search & Analytics
Telemetry Data Labs. (n.d.c). Custom data, privacy, OPSEC & OSINT services. Telemetry
Telemetry Data Labs. (n.d.d). Pricing. Telemetry Pricing Plans: Access Advanced Telegram Search Tools
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