on telegram
the same book, another app
teresa is also a telegram bot. open it from the telegram button at teresa.run, tap start, and it introduces itself exactly like on whatsapp - the first message is the whole onboarding. everything in these pages works the same: logging, fixing, summaries, receipts, the web page, exports.
the welcome arrives in the language your telegram is set to; from then on it mirrors whatever you write.
the why, in one page: teresa for telegram.
text me what you spent - "tacos 250", "uber 89 yesterday" - and i react 👌 when it's logged. receipts too. 9:02
teresa.run/share/#/… 9:02
in a group
bots do not appear in your contacts: the text teresa for free button at the end of this page offers add to a telegram group, or in the group pick add members and type the bot's @username. unlike whatsapp, telegram tells bots when they are added - so teresa says hello the moment it lands, before anyone writes.
to talk to it, @mention its username or reply to one of its messages. the rest is the same as any group: tabs, splits, budgets.
i read along and log any expense someone mentions ("paid 600 for dinner") - i react 👌 so you know it's tracked 9:10
what is different
- the reaction. telegram bots can only react with a fixed set of emoji, and 💸 is not in it. on telegram a logged expense - and a saved receipt - gets 👌 instead. same meaning: it's in the book.
- no phone number. telegram never shares it with bots. your account is your telegram user, so nothing about your number is stored, and a license you buy there is tied to that user.
- no read receipts. bots cannot mark messages read, so no blue ticks - the reaction is the acknowledgement.
- attachments up to 20 mb, telegram's limit for bots. photos and pdfs both work as receipts.
one book per chat, per app
a private chat on telegram and a private chat on whatsapp are two separate books, even for the same person - teresa has no way to know they are you, and would not link them if it did. same for groups. pick one app per book and stay there; the web page and exports look identical on both.