Reminders on Telegram
For the full best experience — especially water nudges that reach you when the website isn't open — we love Abraham in Telegram. You don't need to know the app already. About two minutes.
New to Telegram? You're not alone.
Plenty of Australians haven't installed it — WhatsApp and iMessage are what most people use. Telegram is just another free messaging app. We use it because it's reliable for bots and reminders: Abraham can nudge you, you can reply like a text, and you can open the whole Do Today app inside the chat (already signed in).
Set up in three pictures
1Install Telegram (free)
App Store or Google Play — search Telegram, install the blue paper-plane app, sign up with your mobile number.
2Connect in Do Today
Sign in at dotoday.com.au, tap your profile picture (top right), then Connect Telegram under Reminders. Tap Start in the chat that opens.
3Prove the banner, then you're done
Leave the Abraham chat, open Profile → Reminders → Send test nudge. On Mac, turn Focus off and set Telegram to Banners in System Settings → Notifications — otherwise alerts can hide in Notification Centre (clock, top-right). Then water reminders land the same way, with a one-tap glass button.
After you connect, you'll see "Connected to Do Today!" — then open profile → Reminders, leave the Abraham chat, and tap Send test nudge so you know banners work. On a Mac, turn Focus off (or allow Telegram) — otherwise the nudge can land in Notification Centre (clock, top-right) with no popup. Set water cadence there too, or tell Abraham: "remind me to drink every couple of hours, funny tone".
Connected to Claude or ChatGPT instead? Say "connect my Telegram" — it can hand you the same link over the Do Today connection.
What you can do in Telegram
- • Get your water reminders and daily nudges, in a tone you choose (funny, professional, caring — your pick, and lines don't repeat until the pool cycles).
- • Message Abraham — same guided, safety-checked companion as the app (paid plan).
- • Open Do Today inside Telegram — menu button (bottom-left) → already signed in.
- • Turn it off any time in profile → Reminders.
Is it safe? (plain English)
- • Your link is single-use and tied to your account only. Nobody else can use it to connect to your Do Today.
- • Abraham can only message the one chat you connect. Do Today cannot read your other Telegram chats, contacts, or groups.
- • Chatting with Abraham needs your paid account. Same safety checks (crisis support, never diagnosing) as the app.
- • You're in control. Turn Telegram off in profile → Reminders, or block the bot — reminders stop immediately.
- • One honest note: messages to a bot aren't end-to-end encrypted like a private chat — treat a reminder like a normal phone notification. Your detailed health information lives in Do Today, not in Telegram.
FAQ
Do I have to pay for Telegram?
I already use WhatsApp — why Telegram?
Do I need to know how to use Telegram?
Will it spam me?
Can I change the style of the reminders?
How do I stop?
The link says it expired.
I get the reminder in Telegram but no popup banner on my Mac
Often the nudge did arrive — it's sitting quietly in Notification Centre (click the clock / date at the top-right of the Mac menu bar). That tray collects alerts when a Focus mode is on, or when Telegram's alert style is set to show in Notification Centre only.
Fix the popup:
- Turn off Focus (Control Centre → Focus, or menu bar Focus icon) — or allow Telegram under that Focus's Allowed Apps
- System Settings → Notifications → Telegram → Allow notifications → Alert style Banners (or Alerts)
- Telegram → Settings → Notifications and Sounds → desktop notifications on
- Abraham chat → name at the top → Notifications → not muted; check Exceptions
Phone can banner while Mac only files into Notification Centre — each device has its own settings. Leave the Abraham chat, then use Profile → Reminders → Send test nudge to confirm.
I get the reminder in the chat but no banner on iPhone
Leave the Abraham chat, then use Profile → Reminders → Send test nudge.
From Telegram's FAQ — Notification problems:
- Telegram Settings → Notifications and Sounds — notifications ON
- Check whether this chat is muted
- iPhone Settings → Notifications → Telegram — Allow Notifications, Banners
- iOS reset tip: force-quit Telegram → set Telegram alert style to None → reopen → set Banners again
- Also check Focus modes that silence Telegram