@RevokeLinkBot - Manual
@GreyWolfDevTable of Contents:
2.: When does this bot make sense
3.: Functionality
4.: I need help
5.: Support the bot
Idea behind the bot
Recently, several of our groups got flooded by members. It was quite simple: Somebody exposed the group link on a public channel with thousands of subscribers, and immediately a few hundred of them joined the group. The groups are explicitly open for everyone, but those member spams are obviously not what we desired.
Now, sadly, Invitation links on Telegram are a mess: Every admin has a unique inviation link, and only that very admin can also revoke the link. So, if the admin who created that link hadn't been available - or worse, that person hadn't been admin anymore, or their account had been deleted - there would have been no way to stop the incoming members anymore.
The best solution that there could potentially be - a bot! The idea behind @RevokeLinkBot is that the bot creates one link that can be used to invite people, and any admin can ask the bot to revoke that link at any time. With this functionality, there is no mess of multiple group links anymore and if a spam attack comes, the link can easily be revoked by any admin.
@RevokeLinkBot is fully open source - you can view its source code at GitHub.
When does this bot make sense
Since the bot is supposed to revoke the group's link in emergencies, it makes sense to use it:
• In "private" groups only. Private groups are groups without a username. If the group has a username, it's not possible for the bot to revoke it, thus it can't be used in "public" groups with username. (Protip: If you want to have a username for your group but still be able to revoke the access at any time, make the group private, create a channel with the desired username instead and post the (private) group link in the channel! By doing so, you can also use the bot again!)
• In groups that are supposed to be "accessible" by others in some form. If you have a closed group with a few friends, you will probably not need this bot as the link is not going to be revealed anywhere by anyone.
• In groups where not every member can invite users. We highly recommend to turn "Can add new members" off in the default group permissions, as the feature is often abused to add a ton of spambots to the group by spammers. If they can just add the spambots, being able to revoke the link will not help you either.
Functionality
The bot is really simple: It has only one command! Please note that the bot must have the "Invite new members" admin permission to work. Use /getlink after adding the bot to your group to create a link for the first time. Only use this link to invite other people anywhere, do not spread links generated by any other admin or bot! If you have already done so, ask all group admins to revoke their existing links so it's impossible to join the group via any link other than the bot's one!
How do admins revoke their existing invite links? Click "Add new member" -> "Add via invite link" -> "Revoke" / "Generate new Link"
If there is ever an emergency and you wish to revoke the group link, use /getlink again and click the "Revoke" button. The old link will be revoked and nobody can use it to join the group anymore!
As soon as you wish to re-open the group, use /getlink once again to generate a new working link for the group. You can click the "Cancel" button to make the buttons disappear and not click the "Revoke" button by accident.
I need help
If anything is unclear after reading this article, you can step by our support group at @greywolfsupport! Please mention that you are talking about the Revoke Link Bot, because the administrators there are mostly used to questions about the Werewolf and Executrix Bots maintained by our organization.
Support the bot
If you wish to support this bot, please message it in PM and use the /donate command. You will be forwarded to the @werewolfbot that accepts all donations for GreyWolfDev. Thanks a lot for your contribution to keep our servers running!