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Comment by miki123211 | Hacker News Reader

Telegram's bot API is literally one of the friendliest APIs (of any kind) I've ever seen. It's the first thing I reach for when server-to-mobile notifications are concerned.

It's just as easy to set up as ntfy.sh, except that it doesn't break every other week on iOS.

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This is so true. I don’t like Telegram for a host of reasons, but the bot architecture is second to none. Try creating a bot in Slack. You’ll pull your hair out for hours. Same goes for Discord. Utter nightmare. Telegram? You send a DM and it is basically done.

Discord webhooks aren’t too bad… but the proper bot thing is ridiculous. They really lack a development mode server, having to know everything about oauth and token permissions before even starting is bonkers and why do I even need an app is beyond me. I’d probably have my bot completely implemented in telegram in the same time I figured out what an app is in discord and how to even add a new app to my server.

Interesting. I set up a bunch of slack webhooks for server events that's been working decently well but maybe I'll look at telegram.

Slack (and Discord) webhooks are good for just shooting one-sided data into channels, but for interactive bots Telegram is so far ahead of anyone else it's crazy.

Signal specifically is missing any kind of official bot support, cutting off massive audiences from even considering it as an option.

Unfortunately, Telegram is also a no-go from a security/data privacy perspective for many use cases.

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