What public metrics can and cannot show
A channel's complete subscriber list is not public, so no external service can count every inactive account directly. For advertising decisions, the useful question is whether the visible audience behaves like an audience of that size.
- Subscribers set expectations; reach delivers value. If the two are far apart, you may be paying for an audience that does not see the ad.
- Audience activity adds context. Views, reactions, and comments help distinguish a quiet but plausible channel from a visibly inconsistent one.
- Several metrics matter together. One unusual metric may be normal for a channel; a repeated pattern across independent metrics is more informative.
The cleanliness index is probabilistic: it describes public metrics, not an exact count of bots or the owner's actions.
What a channel page shows
Frequently asked questions
Can you see the exact number of bots in a Telegram channel?
No public tool can see a channel's complete subscriber list. TG Inspector instead assesses whether public reach and audience activity are consistent with the visible subscriber count.
How are inactive subscribers different from inflated views?
Inactive subscribers inflate the audience number, while inflated views affect the counter under posts. They matter differently for advertising, so a channel page shows them as separate metrics.
Where can I see these metrics for a channel?
Find the channel in the TG Inspector catalog: its page shows the cleanliness index, ERR, reactions per subscriber, and comments. If it is not in the catalog, add it.
What about private channels?
Private channels do not expose the public posts and counters an external assessment needs, so they cannot be added to the catalog.
Related resources
- How to assess bots in a Telegram channel — a step-by-step guide.
- What ERR means — how actual reach is calculated.
- Channel catalog — pages with metrics and a cleanliness index.
- Add a channel — if it is not in the catalog yet.