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Auto-delete timer

An auto-delete timer is a per-chat Telegram setting that removes every message sent to that chat a fixed number of seconds after it arrives. The Bot API exposes the active timer through the message_auto_delete_time field on the Chat object, and changing it posts a MessageAutoDeleteTimerChanged service message into the chat so participants see the change happen. Autogram does not read or set this timer today — it publishes content to channels, and Autogram's codebase has no handling for message_auto_delete_time or the timer-changed event.

What the timer actually does

Once set, the timer applies to every message sent after that point, deleting each one for all participants at the same fixed delay — it is not a per-message toggle a sender picks at send time. The delay is set at the chat level, so every message in a channel or group with the timer on shares the same countdown, and turning the timer off stops new deletions without restoring anything already removed.

Where it applies, and where it does not

Auto-delete is most associated with private and secret chats, but message_auto_delete_time is a general chat property that a channel or a supergroup can also carry. A MessageAutoDeleteTimerChanged service message marks every change, which is how a bot watching the chat's update stream can tell the timer was touched without polling the Chat object on a schedule.

Why this matters for scheduled content

A channel with auto-delete enabled would have every post — scheduled or manual — vanish on the same clock, which conflicts with the point of building a content calendar. Autogram's scheduling and posting pipeline has no code path that reads or reacts to message_auto_delete_time, so a channel using the timer today gets no special handling from Autogram beyond what Telegram does automatically.

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