Reactions in a Telegram Channel: How to Enable, Custom Emoji and Paid Stars

Reactions in a Telegram channel are turned on in settings: channel profile → Edit → Reactions, where you can allow all reactions, only some or none. Custom emoji reactions are available to boosted channels: according to Telegram's FAQ, each boost level unlocks one more custom reaction. Paid Star reactions are switched on in the same place, and the channel owner receives all the Stars.

How to enable reactions in a Telegram channel

• Open the channel and tap its name.
• Tap Edit on iPhone or the pencil on Android.
• Open Reactions.
• Choose a mode: all reactions, some (tick the emoji you want) or no reactions.
• Save the changes.

The same section lets you cap how many different reactions a single post can collect, so posts don't end up with a messy row of dozens of emoji.

Why does a channel need reactions?

Reactions are the fastest feedback you get: they show which topics land, and new readers judge how alive a channel is by the numbers under posts. They also feed into engagement rate (ER), which advertisers check.

Posts that more people see get more reactions. You can support reach on the Telegram promotion page: views on recent posts from $0.014 per 1000, on any post $0.12 per 1000, by link and with no password. Other ways and their risks are covered in how to get more reactions in Telegram.

How to add custom emoji to channel reactions

• The channel needs a boost level: level 1 gives 1 custom reaction, level 2 gives 2, and so on up to 10 at level 10.
• In Reactions, choose Some and add emoji from any custom emoji pack.
• Boosts come from Telegram Premium subscribers via the link in Statistics and Boosts, and from Premium giveaways.

How to reach the level you need is explained in how Telegram boosts work.

How do paid Star reactions work?

• Turn them on in Edit → Reactions → Paid Reactions; the feature launched in August 2024.
• A subscriber taps the Star reaction and chooses how many Telegram Stars to send.
• The channel owner receives 100% of the Stars and can convert them to Toncoin or spend them on Telegram ads at a discount.
• Each post shows a leaderboard of top senders, but people can hide themselves from it.

More on Telegram's in-app currency and payouts is in Telegram Stars.

Can you see who reacted?

In channels, regular reactions are anonymous: admins only see the count. In groups you can tap a reaction and see who left it. The channel exception is paid reactions — their leaderboard shows senders who didn't hide themselves.

Why are reactions or a specific emoji missing?

• Reactions are switched off — check the Reactions section.
• Some mode is on and the emoji isn't in the list.
• A custom reaction vanished after the level dropped: boosts don't last forever.
• The reader is on an old app version and new reactions don't display.

Above all, reactions come from people, so they grow with your audience. You can expand the base on the Telegram subscribers page — from $0.21 per 1000, with Ukraine or CIS GEO.