بله (Bale)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
بله (Bale — Persian for "yes") is an Iranian messenger that calls itself a banking one. Alongside messaging and calls it handles card transfers, bill payments and gold purchases, as well as "bazu" (بازو, literally "arm") — the local name for the bots and mini-apps through which government and banking services are delivered.
For social media work this is a rare type of platform: a national messenger with open API documentation, a public advertising account with targeting, and a clearly stated threshold for channel monetization. What is more, the API is deliberately compatible with Telegram — the platform openly invites you to migrate Telegram bots, more on which below.
The site and the app are entirely in Persian; according to the FAQ section the interface is available in Persian, Azerbaijani, Arabic and English.
Who's here
On its developer page the platform reports an audience of 60 million users and more than 30,000 active bots. This is the platform's own claim: it publishes neither the counting method nor a breakdown by activity.
The geography is Iran. The corporate services page lists organisations whose services run inside the messenger: Bank Melli Iran (card-to-card transfers, appointment booking, bills and transaction notifications), Bank Maskan (mortgage payments), the tax administration and Post of Iran — the list is given on that same page.
The practical conclusion follows: Bale's audience consists first of all of people who need banking and government operations, not content subscriptions. Plan your media strategy here with an allowance for that motivation.
One more detail that matters for planning. At the time of our check the link to the iOS app from the platform's own site led to a non-existent App Store page, while installation on Android is offered as a direct file download from the site and through Iranian app stores. In other words, the familiar Google Play and App Store storefronts do not work here.
Getting started
Registration is by phone number with confirmation by code. For financial operations the terms of use require a full 18 years of age by the solar calendar.
A channel is created inside the app: in the chat list there is a new conversation button, then "create channel", a name, an avatar, a choice between public and private, and for a public one an identifier. Once created, you can add members from your contact list straight away — the procedure is described in the FAQ section.
Verification (the "official check mark") is granted to channels only. The conditions: the channel belongs to a well-known person or an official figure, or to an organisation, a government body or a business with official permission from the relevant authority. To obtain it you need an official letter with the channel's name, its identifier and the owner's number, plus payment of an annual subscription — the amount is not stated on the page.
Businesses have a separate entrance — the corporate services page with an application form. The same page gives the support contact for organisations and offers a free consultation.
What you can publish
The formats are standard for a messenger: text, photo, video, audio and voice messages, documents, stickers, GIFs, polls, location. The bot documentation confirms the set with the methods sendPhoto, sendAudio, sendDocument, sendVideo, sendAnimation, sendVoice, sendMediaGroup, sendLocation, sendContact — the full list of methods is published.
The platform states the file size limit directly: you can send files up to 500 MB, but in special circumstances and under temporary restrictions the threshold may drop — for example, to 20 MB. The same 500 MB ceiling applies to bots, while forwarding an already uploaded file by its identifier has no size restriction.
What is forbidden is listed in detail in the rules. "Criminal content" there covers insults and defamation, pornography and material against public morality, promotion of violence and self-harm, phishing and fraudulent links, advertising of alcohol, gambling and betting, material against Islamic sanctities, incitement of discord between the peoples of Iran, trade in prohibited goods, impersonating government bodies and banks, tools for circumventing filtering, encroachments on the country's security, and infringements of copyright and trademark rights — the list is open in the rules section. The wording "at Bale's discretion" is present in that list explicitly.
How to grow
Direct invitations are limited: the owner and administrators can add no more than 1000 members to a channel or group, and each administrator no more than 200, so reaching the full limit takes five administrators. Joining via an invitation link has no restrictions.
Advertising is the most developed growth tool. The advertising account is available on application: you choose a placement, send a request, and after an administrator's approval the ad is shown at the chosen time. The platform names five advertising placements: in the chat list, advertising of a channel post inside other channels, in the services section, in the platform's magazine and on the receipt for a currency purchase.
Targeting is limited, but it exists: by gender (show only to men or only to women) and by geographic location (for example, only to residents of Tehran) — both parameters are described on the advertising page.
The platform describes its reporting like this: a chart and numeric indicators are available both while the ad is running and after it ends, and notifications about a change in the ad's status arrive through the advertising helper bot. The account itself is free — you pay only for the placement; there is no price list, minimum budget or unit of purchase (impressions, clicks, days) on the page.
The platform does not publish any description of a feed algorithm or of how channels are ranked.
Path to monetization
Here Bale has something most regional messengers lack — a stated threshold. The FAQ section reports that you can earn by selling goods and services through a channel, and that on reaching 5000 members "channel revenue" is enabled in the channel settings. There are no rates, no payout terms and no content requirements on that page — only the threshold itself and the place where the option is switched on.
The second route is payment bots. The documentation contains a payments section with the methods sendInvoice, createInvoiceLink, answerPreCheckoutQuery and the types LabeledPrice, SuccessfulPayment, Transaction, as well as access to the electronic wallet — all of it in the open documentation. So you can sell inside a bot with the standard means.
The third is corporate services, where you no longer earn but pay. Bulk messaging is positioned as a cheaper alternative to SMS with support for photo and video and without a limit on text length; sending one-time passwords is declared entirely free and without a limit on quantity. Bulk messaging rates are not stated on the page.
Tools and automation
The main technical fact: Bale's bot API is built on Telegram's Bot API with minor changes, and the platform states directly that ready-made libraries for Telegram bots in various languages work here too — this is declared in the first paragraph of the documentation. The practical implication: if you already have a Telegram bot, porting it will cost less than building from scratch. The developer page names compatibility with the Telegram API as one of the main advantages and promises migration of existing bots.
Technical details from the documentation: requests go over HTTPS to an address of the form https://tapi.bale.ai/bot<token>/METHOD_NAME, GET and POST are supported along with four ways of passing parameters; the response is JSON with an ok field; method name casing does not matter and the encoding is UTF-8. Updates are received via getUpdates or a webhook, and the server stores the last 2000 messages for 24 hours. The token is issued by the "father" bot when you create a bot.
Besides the bot documentation, the same portal has documentation sections for mini-apps and for the bulk messaging service, as well as training courses.
For organisations the platform offers a ready-made CRM with round-the-clock automatic answers to user questions which, by its description, is assembled in a few minutes without programming — the description is on the corporate services page.
Compatibility with Telegram's Bot API means your own automation can be written quickly.
Limits and rules
The numeric limits the platform publishes itself in the FAQ section: a file up to 500 MB with a possible temporary reduction to 20 MB; a group call up to 64 participants; direct addition to a channel or group up to 1000 people and up to 200 per administrator; account deletion no more than once a day and twice a month. The recommended system versions are Android above 6 and Windows above XP.
The legal framework is Iranian, and it is noticeably stricter than what you may be used to. The rules state directly that the user bears responsibility for content, that judicial authorities may issue binding orders and that a public channel is the responsibility of its administrator — all of this is in the user obligations section. Distribution of tools for circumventing filtering is forbidden as a separate clause.
A practical access restriction: the messenger is not distributed through Google Play, and the App Store link from the platform's site does not open. Installation goes through the site and Iranian stores. This affects both your reach outside Iran and your audience's ability to install the app at all.
Who it's for
Bale suits you if your audience is in Iran, and especially if your product is connected with payments, delivery, government services or banks: the bot ecosystem here is built around exactly these tasks.
It suits developers and agencies who already have a Telegram bot: API compatibility makes entering the Iranian market relatively cheap.
It suits advertisers ready to work with limited targeting by gender and region and with manual approval of ads.
It does not suit you if you plan to run a channel from outside Iran without local support: the interface, documentation and rules are in Persian, channel verification requires an official letter and an annual payment, and installing the app itself bypasses the global stores.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as: «بله علاوه بر امکانات پیامرسانی و مالی، انواع خدمات سازمانی مثل استعلام کالابرگ، رهگیری مرسوله پستی، سرویس هوش مصنوعی و... را ارائه میدهد!»
This is the platform's statement about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
Who's here
the platform claims an audience of 60 million users and more than 30,000 active bots; the methodology is not disclosed
The platform's claim
source, checked 2026-07-28
Account and access
an account can be deleted no more than once a day and twice a month
source, checked 2026-07-28
the official check mark is granted to channels only; the conditions are a well-known person, an official figure or an organisation with permission from the relevant authority; an official letter and payment of an annual subscription are required (the amount is not stated)
source, checked 2026-07-28
Business terms
corporate services: bulk messaging (declared cheaper than SMS, supports photo and video, no limit on text length), sending one-time passwords (declared free and without a limit on quantity), CRM, bot development
source, checked 2026-07-28
services of Bank Melli Iran, Bank Maskan, the tax administration and Post of Iran run inside the messenger
source, checked 2026-07-28
Advertising
five advertising placements: in the chat list, advertising of a channel post inside other channels, in the services section, in the platform's magazine, on the receipt for a currency purchase
source, checked 2026-07-28
targeting by gender (men only or women only) and by geographic location
source, checked 2026-07-28
the advertising account is free, you pay only for the placement itself; the price list, minimum budget and unit of purchase are not published
source, checked 2026-07-28
Analytics
the report on an ad is available as a chart and as numbers while it is running and after it ends; notifications about a status change arrive through the advertising helper bot
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
on reaching 5000 members the «channel revenue» option is enabled in the channel settings; the rates, terms and payout geography are not disclosed
A rare case of a named threshold at a regional messenger
source, checked 2026-07-28
Limits and restrictions
you can send files up to 500 MB; under temporary restrictions the threshold may drop, for example to 20 MB; the same 500 MB ceiling applies to bots
source, checked 2026-07-28
a group call takes up to 64 participants
source, checked 2026-07-28
direct addition to a channel or group is capped at 1000 members, each administrator can add up to 200, so reaching the full limit takes five administrators; joining via a link is not limited
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
financial operations require a full 18 years of age by the solar calendar
source, checked 2026-07-28
prohibited: insults and defamation, pornography, promotion of violence and self-harm, phishing and fraudulent links, advertising of alcohol and gambling, material against Islamic sanctities, incitement of discord between the peoples of Iran, trade in prohibited goods, impersonating government bodies and banks, tools for circumventing filtering
source, checked 2026-07-28
the app is not distributed through Google Play; as of 2026-07-28 the App Store link from the platform's site does not open; installation goes through the site and Iranian stores
Checked by following the links from the site itself
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
the address https://dev.bale.ai was found on the home page by the «api/dev» marker in the address itself, but the page that opened contains no signs of developer documentation — this does not confirm a developer section
CORRECTED the previous version declared any address containing the word api or dev found on the home page to be a developer section. All 57 such records were checked by opening the address: 24 turned out to be documentation. See data/technical/dev-links-verified.tsv and docs/research/S195-догадка-по-адресу.md
source, checked 2026-07-28
the bot API is built on Telegram's Bot API with minor changes; the platform openly invites you to migrate Telegram bots and use ready-made libraries
KEY FACT for estimating the cost of entry
source, checked 2026-07-28
requests go over HTTPS to an address of the form https://tapi.bale.ai/bot<token>/METHOD_NAME; GET and POST are supported along with four ways of passing parameters; the response is JSON with an ok field
source, checked 2026-07-28
the server stores the last 2000 messages for 24 hours until they are received via getUpdates or a webhook
source, checked 2026-07-28
the documentation has a payments section: sendInvoice, createInvoiceLink, answerPreCheckoutQuery, the types LabeledPrice, SuccessfulPayment, Transaction, and access to the electronic wallet
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
the interface is available in Persian, Azerbaijani, Arabic and English
source, checked 2026-07-28
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · region: Iran · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions