Telegram People Nearby was a location-based feature that let users discover other Telegram users who had chosen to make themselves visible nearby. It was designed for situations where people wanted to exchange contact information in person, meet new people in the same area, or connect with location-based communities. Telegram introduced the feature in 2019 and later expanded it with options for discovering nearby users and showing how far away they were.
The important point today is that People Nearby is no longer an available Telegram feature. Telegram removed it in 2024, so current versions of the app do not provide the original nearby-user directory. If you are looking for the option because you remember seeing it under Contacts, its absence is not normally caused by a missing phone permission or a problem with your account.
What Did Telegram People Nearby Do?
People Nearby used location information to help users discover other Telegram accounts in their vicinity. A person could choose to make their profile visible through the feature, after which other participating users nearby could see the profile and initiate a conversation.
The feature was more specific than simply sharing a Telegram username. Its purpose was to create a connection between people who were physically close to one another and had opted into the nearby feature. Telegram also developed related location-based functionality for groups, allowing users to discover public groups associated with their surrounding area.
- Discover participating Telegram users nearby.
- Choose to make your own profile visible to nearby users.
- Start conversations without first exchanging phone numbers.
- Use location-based groups for communities in the surrounding area.
Why Can’t You Find People Nearby In Telegram?
Telegram removed People Nearby in 2024. Telegram’s official bug-tracking site records the feature as removed, rather than describing the situation as an ordinary temporary outage. This means reinstalling Telegram, changing location permissions, or updating the app will not restore the original People Nearby directory.
The change also explains why older guides can be confusing. Telegram’s own documentation from 2019 and 2020 describes the feature as an active part of the app, including the “Make Myself Visible” option. Those instructions accurately describe the feature at the time they were published, but they are no longer applicable to current Telegram versions.
Telegram People Nearby Then And Now
| Aspect | When The Feature Was Available | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| Nearby users | Users could discover participating Telegram accounts nearby. | Not available through the original People Nearby feature. |
| Visibility | Users could choose to make themselves visible to nearby users. | The People Nearby visibility option has been removed. |
| Location-based discovery | Nearby discovery used location information. | The original nearby-user directory is no longer provided. |
| Nearby groups | Location-based groups were associated with the feature. | The original People Nearby functionality has been removed. |
Was People Nearby The Same As Sharing Your Location?
No. People Nearby was a discovery feature rather than simply a location-sharing tool. Its purpose was to help participating users find other people in their vicinity. Ordinary location sharing in a Telegram conversation serves a different purpose: it allows you to send your location to a specific chat or group when you choose to do so.
This distinction matters because turning on location services on your phone does not bring back People Nearby. The feature itself has been removed from Telegram, so granting additional location permissions cannot recreate its former functionality.
Can You Still Find Telegram Users Near You?
There is no direct replacement that recreates the original People Nearby directory in the current Telegram app. You can still connect with people through other Telegram mechanisms, but these generally require a different starting point than simply browsing nearby users.
For example, you can use:
- Public groups: Join communities built around a city, neighborhood, hobby, event, or shared interest.
- Public channels: Follow local organizations, communities, or creators that publish their Telegram usernames or invite links.
- Usernames: Contact someone directly when you already know their public Telegram username.
- Invitation links: Join a Telegram group when someone provides you with an appropriate invite link.
Is There A Setting That Can Bring It Back?
No. The removal is a change to Telegram’s feature set, not simply an account setting. If an older tutorial tells you to open Contacts and select People Nearby, those instructions refer to an earlier version of Telegram.
Be cautious with websites or apps claiming that they can restore the official People Nearby feature through a special APK, hidden setting, or secret Telegram option. Installing unofficial applications or giving third-party services access to your Telegram account can create unnecessary security and privacy risks.
What Should You Use Instead?
The most suitable alternative depends on why you wanted People Nearby in the first place. If your goal was to meet people with a shared local interest, a relevant public Telegram group is a closer match than trying to reproduce location-based discovery. If your goal was simply to exchange contact information with someone standing next to you, exchanging usernames or using Telegram’s normal contact-sharing options can accomplish the same basic task without the former nearby directory.
The key takeaway is straightforward: Telegram People Nearby was a real Telegram feature, but it was removed in 2024 and is not currently available as the original nearby-user discovery service. Older articles and videos may still show the feature because they were created when it was active. …