diff --git a/src/telegram/send.test.ts b/src/telegram/send.test.ts
index e1df7eb0012..ac37fd6c013 100644
--- a/src/telegram/send.test.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/send.test.ts
@@ -1293,6 +1293,36 @@ describe("sendPollTelegram", () => {
     expect(api.sendPoll.mock.calls[0]?.[3]).toMatchObject({ open_period: 60 });
   });
 
+  it("defaults polls to public (is_anonymous=false)", async () => {
+    const api = {
+      sendPoll: vi.fn(async () => ({ message_id: 123, chat: { id: 555 }, poll: { id: "p1" } })),
+    };
+
+    await sendPollTelegram(
+      "123",
+      { question: "Q", options: ["A", "B"] },
+      { token: "t", api: api as unknown as Bot["api"] },
+    );
+
+    expect(api.sendPoll).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(api.sendPoll.mock.calls[0]?.[3]).toMatchObject({ is_anonymous: false });
+  });
+
+  it("supports explicit anonymous polls", async () => {
+    const api = {
+      sendPoll: vi.fn(async () => ({ message_id: 123, chat: { id: 555 }, poll: { id: "p1" } })),
+    };
+
+    await sendPollTelegram(
+      "123",
+      { question: "Q", options: ["A", "B"] },
+      { token: "t", api: api as unknown as Bot["api"], isAnonymous: true },
+    );
+
+    expect(api.sendPoll).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(api.sendPoll.mock.calls[0]?.[3]).toMatchObject({ is_anonymous: true });
+  });
+
   it("retries without message_thread_id on thread-not-found", async () => {
     const api = {
       sendPoll: vi.fn(
diff --git a/src/telegram/send.ts b/src/telegram/send.ts
index 5687591cec3..98721b5ad08 100644
--- a/src/telegram/send.ts
+++ b/src/telegram/send.ts
@@ -974,7 +974,7 @@ type TelegramPollOpts = {
   messageThreadId?: number;
   /** Send message silently (no notification). Defaults to false. */
   silent?: boolean;
-  /** Whether votes are anonymous. Defaults to true (Telegram default). */
+  /** Whether votes are anonymous. Defaults to false (public poll). */
   isAnonymous?: boolean;
 };
 
@@ -1032,7 +1032,7 @@ export async function sendPollTelegram(
   // sendPoll(chat_id, question, options, other?, signal?)
   const pollParams = {
     allows_multiple_answers: normalizedPoll.maxSelections > 1,
-    is_anonymous: opts.isAnonymous ?? true,
+    is_anonymous: opts.isAnonymous ?? false,
     ...(durationSeconds !== undefined ? { open_period: durationSeconds } : {}),
     ...(Object.keys(threadParams).length > 0 ? threadParams : {}),
     ...(opts.silent === true ? { disable_notification: true } : {}),