diff --git a/src/telegram/bot.ts b/src/telegram/bot.ts
index 13baecae4..53d35971e 100644
--- a/src/telegram/bot.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/bot.ts
@@ -162,6 +162,11 @@ export function createTelegramBot(opts: TelegramBotOptions) {
         }
       }
 
+      // React to acknowledge message receipt
+      ctx.react("✍️").catch((err) => {
+        logVerbose(`telegram react failed for chat ${chatId}: ${String(err)}`);
+      });
+
       const media = await resolveMedia(
         ctx,
         mediaMaxBytes,