Pulse FAQ

Short answers about Pulse, with links to the full pages.

For brands

These questions cover writing a poll, who can see what, paying for it and reading its report.

Can I see who voted?

No. Every Pulse poll is anonymous. Onflow Ads receives only the total for each answer in each channel, never who voted or how any person voted, and nobody can find that out through Onflow Ads. See Pulse.

Can I offer a prize to people who vote?

No. Nobody may be paid or rewarded for voting or for an answer, and a poll that offers anything is refused before it is charged. See Create a Pulse poll.

What am I charged, and when?

The cap: the cost of every channel your poll is offered to (each host fee plus Onflow's 15%), charged when you confirm. What comes back for a channel depends on what happened there: everything if the poll never ran there or failed on Onflow's side; the host fee only, with Onflow keeping its 15%, if the host deleted the poll early or your dispute was upheld. See Pricing and the cap.

Can I pay with Onflow Credit?

Only for Onflow's part, the 15% Pulse fee. The host fees must be paid from your wallet balance. The quote shows the split before you confirm: Onflow Credit toward the 15% first, the host fees in cash. Without enough cash for the host fees the poll cannot launch, and the quote says how much to top up. See Pricing and the cap and Onflow Credit.

Why was I refunded only part of a channel's charge?

Because the host was at fault or your dispute was upheld. You get the host fee back, and Onflow keeps its 15%: the poll was posted and monitored for you. If you paid a kept 15% with Onflow Credit, that credit stays spent. You get everything back only when the poll never ran in that channel or failed on Onflow's side. See Pricing and the cap.

What if Onflow's system failed?

You get everything for that channel back: the host fee and the 15%, each to the pocket it came from. The host is not paid and not penalised, and is told the poll failed on Onflow's side. If the cause is not clear yet, the money stays held while our team reviews it.

Can my poll run in my own channels?

Not as a brand poll: your own channels and channels of linked accounts are never offered it. Use a poll in your own channel instead. See Pulse for my channel.

Why does my live poll show no votes?

Telegram hides the totals until a poll closes. The report reads Not visible until close until then. See Reading a Pulse report.

Does Pulse guarantee a number of votes or a result?

No. Votes come from readers who choose to answer. The report shows what they answered, with ranges that say how sure it can be.

How many answers can a poll have?

Between 2 and 12, each up to 100 characters. These are Telegram's own limits, counted the way Telegram counts them, so most emoji count as two characters. A poll Telegram could not post is refused before anything is charged. See Create a Pulse poll.

Something went wrong in a channel. Can I get my money back?

You can dispute that channel's payout within 72 hours of its poll completing, with a reason and evidence. Our team decides: paid to the channel, split, or the host fee refunded to you. Onflow keeps its 15% in each case. See Dispute a Pulse payout.

Can I pay a channel sooner?

Yes, once our check confirms the poll is live in that channel, you can release the part you paid in cleared cash early. For that order you give up disputes, refunds, make-goods, guarantees, Brand Safety Shield pause refunds, Brand Lift wave refunds and Onflow's help with fraud, and nobody can undo it, support included. See Release a payout early.

Does my plan's discount lower a poll's price?

No. Host fees and Onflow's share of them are the same on every plan. The plan discount applies only to Onflow's own service prices, such as the Brand Lift study fee. See Comparing the plans.

Can my score be lowered for a poll?

Only if our team confirms your poll broke the content policy, after telling you what it found and giving you time to answer. You can appeal. See Pulse penalties and appeals.

For hosts

These questions cover hosting polls in your channel, keeping them up and being paid for them.

What does my channel need to host polls?

@OnflowAdsBot as an administrator with the Post Messages right, and Pulse switched on in the channel's settings. See Host Pulse polls.

What if I delete a poll early?

You are not paid for it, the brand gets your fee back, and your reliability score is lowered once our checks prove it. See Keep the poll up.

When am I paid?

Your fee lands 7 days after the poll completes, as money you can withdraw. If your reliability band is lower when it is due, it waits 10, 14 or 21 days, and never less than 7. Host fees are paid by brands in cash; only on a poll bought before the current rules may a part a brand paid with Onflow Credit be held longer. See Pulse payouts.

Can support pay me sooner?

No. No plan, support request or admin action pays a fee sooner. Only the brand can release a fee early, once the poll is live in your channel. See Pulse payouts.

Why is my payout held?

Either the brand opened a dispute within its window, and our team is deciding, or your reliability band means a longer wait. The offer shows the reason and the date. See Pulse payouts.

I was penalised for a poll I did not delete. What now?

A poll counts as deleted early only with proof, and problems on Telegram's side or ours never count. Appeal the penalty from your reliability page and a person reviews it; if it was wrong, the exact points come back. See Pulse penalties and appeals.

Why can't I host Pulse polls any more?

Either your score is below the minimum for hosting, or our team confirmed you offered rewards for votes. That mark keeps you out of Pulse hosting while it stands; if it is reversed on appeal, you can host again. See Pulse penalties and appeals.

Can I ask my readers to vote?

You can tell them a poll is there. You may never offer anything for voting or ask them to vote one way.