As for group and Secret Chats, it won't work as described above. If you delete a group or a Secret Chat, it will only delete on your end. With groups, the other users will be able to continue chatting. With Secret Chats, the other user's chat will be archived, but all messages and attachments inside will be visible. Launch the Telegram app on your desktop and open the contact for which you want to export chat. Now click on the three-dot icon at the top-right of the screen. From the various options available, click on the Export chat history.
While checking the results of a recent quiz on how End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) works on Telegram, I noticed that not everyone in the TSF understands this. This document offers some templates along with the basic ideas behind our design decisions.
1. Why are Secret Chats only available on their devices of origin?
The question goes pretty deep, so it‘s best not confuse the user with too many details right away. Let’s send this first and then explain if any extra questions arise:
While your Cloud Chats can be accessed from any of your devices anytime, Secret Chats are not part of the Telegram Cloud and are device-specific by design. This way you can always be sure that they are safe for as long as your phone is safe in your pocket. Secret Chats also use end-to-end encryption, so they can’t be synced in the same simple and convenient way as Cloud Chats. We may add support for multi-device Secret Chats in the future.
Meanwhile, if you want your conversations to be synced across many devices, consider using Cloud Chats. Please note that they are encrypted as well and are further protected by Telegram's distributed infrastructure. Let me know if you want to learn more about security on Telegram.
See also:The ‘Learn more’ template »
Note: Same as with any templates, please be very careful when sending this one. Take care to adapt the text in such a way that it fits the user‘s questions and situation perfectly. This is especially important when dealing with security-related questions. If you’re not sure you‘re qualified to continue the conversation, don’t hesitate to ask in your local group. There's always help!
Now let's look at the question in a little more detail:
Multi-device End-to-end encrypted chats are a mess
The concept of End-to-End Encryption has no limits for the number of communicating devices. However, if you want to access your end-to-end encrypted chats from multiple devices, you’re facing many technical difficulties, especially when it comes to connecting new devices, loading chat history and restoring backups.
Most of our competitors (notably, Whatsapp and iMessage) solve these problems in ways that make their end-to-end encryption useless (this is a big topic, so requires a separate manual). To solve them in a secure way, you’d have to sacrifice usability and some of the features you’re used to – the result would never be as fluent and simple as what we offer in Cloud Chats.
One-device Secret Chats are a feature
Secret Chats are not just about End-to-End Encryption, otherwise we‘d have simply called them ’end-to-end encrypted chats'. Secret Chats are a bundle of tools for private single-device communication. They are self-sanitizing thanks to self-destruct timers, and you can’t forward messages from them. That secret chats are only available on their devices of origin is also a feature.
We like to keep our Secret Chats where we can see them. With single-device chats you can be 100% sure that nobody can access your chats without accessing your (or your chat partner’s) phone first. Politicians and businesspeople around the world appreciate this and have been among Telegram’s early adopters in most countries. The impact for regular users is even higher since they are more likely to leave their work or home computers unlocked and unattended.
Most of us have one main device and can manage to keep an eye on it at all times. As a mass user, you probably don’t want these constraints to apply to all of your data, and this is where Cloud Chats come to the rescue.
Naturally, it would have been possible to have three types of chats: Cloud Chats, Single-Device Secret Chats, and Multi-Device Secret Chats – a stripped-down and somewhat lamer version of cloud chats. But such levels of complexity are unacceptable for a mass market app, so we had to choose. We chose to have fully functional multi-device cloud chats and single-device secret chats with their own suite of functions like self-destruct timers, protection from forwarding, etc.
What makes Cloud Chats cool?
Cloud chats don't use E2EE, but we went out of the way to make them as secure as possible while retaining the flexibility that made them famous.
These are the most important features of Telegram’s cloud chats for our users:
1. You can log in on any device and see all your chats, immediately.
2. You can start typing on one device, then continue on another – even if you just logged in there for the first time.
3. If you lose your device, you can immediately get all your cloud chats and contacts back.
4. If you need to find a message, you can use instant search to find it, regardless of when and which of your devices you were using when you sent or received it.
1. You can log in on any device and see all your chats, immediately.
2. You can start typing on one device, then continue on another – even if you just logged in there for the first time.
3. If you lose your device, you can immediately get all your cloud chats and contacts back.
4. If you need to find a message, you can use instant search to find it, regardless of when and which of your devices you were using when you sent or received it.
Are Cloud Chats secure?
Since without E2EE Cloud Chat data is theoretically accessible, we use a unique distributed infrastructure to protect it. Cloud Chat data is stored in multiple data centers around the globe that are controlled by different legal entities spread across different jurisdictions. The relevant decryption keys are split into parts and are never kept in the same place as the data they protect. As a result, local intruders or engineers can't access this data, and several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force us to give up any of it.
Thanks to this structure, we can ensure that no single government or block of like-minded countries can intrude on people's privacy and freedom of expression. Telegram can be forced to give up data only if an issue is grave and universal enough to pass the scrutiny of several different legal systems around the world.
As a result, we have disclosed 0 bytes of user data to third parties, including governments, to this day.
To sum up: Single-device Secret Chats
- Secret Chats are only available on their devices of origin. This is a feature.
- Eliminates risk for private conversation if another device is lost, stolen or simply left unattended.
- Multi-device Secret Chats would never be as fluent and easy to use as Cloud Chats: no history sync on new devices, no automatic backups, no server search, no cloud drafts.
- Other messengers claim they have both E2EE and these features, but in fact they invalidate their E2EE (e.g., iMessage supports multiple devices, but thanks to the way they do it their e2e claims are also invalidated. WhatsApp pushes third-party unencrypted backups to their users, these backups nullify their e2e claims. More on this in a more detailed manual coming soon.)
- Cloud chats are stored heavily encrypted and are protected by Telegram’s unique distributed infrastructure.
- We may introduce multi-device Secret Chats in the future, even though this requires a lot of work and careful planning.
2. Why are there no Secret Chats on desktop apps?
The answers to this question are closely connected to the fact that we decided to restrict Secret Chats to their devices of origin (see above). You could use this template for starters:
Secret chats require permanent storage on the device, something that Telegram Desktop and Telegram Web don’t support at the moment. We may add this in the future. Currently, both the desktop and the web app load messages from the Cloud on startup and discard them when you quit. Since secret chats are not part of the cloud, this would kill all your secret chats each time you shut down your computer.
Secret chats are also device-specific and disappear if you log out — considering this, it is handier to keep them on the one device that you always carry with you. In case you are concerned about the security of your chats on desktop, please note that they are encrypted as well and are further protected by Telegram's distributed infrastructure. Let me know if you want to learn more about security on Telegram.
See also:The ‘Learn more’ template »
Note: Same as with any templates, please be very careful when sending this one. Take care to adapt the text in such a way that it fits the user‘s questions and situation perfectly. This is especially important when dealing with security-related questions. If you’re not sure you‘re qualified to continue the conversation, don’t hesitate to ask in your local group. There's always help!
Now let's look at the question in a little more detail:
Desktops are less personal
We log in from many places on web and desktop. Many of our desktops are monitored by network administrators at work, or accessed by family members at home. We often leave our desktops and even laptops unattended. It's much easier to keep an eye on your phone.
Open systems vs. Sandboxed systems
Desktop systems and browsers are much more open environments, as opposed to sandboxed environments like mobile OSs. To have Secret Chats, you need your app to store data on the device, and implementing this is slightly more complicated in open systems. The Web and Desktop apps currently get all data from the cloud on startup and discard it when you quit or log out. This would mean losing all your secret chats each time you shut down your computer.
But the real challenges for desktop chats arise because Telegram’s Secret Chats are meant to be single-device chats (see above):
A chaos of chats with the same person
If each chat only connects two devices, users get many different chats with the same person. Imagine two people that have a laptop, a desktop at work and a mobile device each. That’s 9 secret chats in total, and most of them are useless at any given moment.
“Is she still at work?” “Should I message him at the home PC?” Most of us will have multiple desktops (work, home, laptop), most of us will have only one main phone. It is most likely that you can get the person by messaging their mobile phone.
Search-related troubles
There’s an added twist when it comes to finding a certain message. Since no server-side search for messages is possible in the E2EE paradigm, the user would have to remember on their own where to look for a particular message (was it in this chat on this device, or in that chat on that device?). Telegram wouldn’t be able to help in any way.
Remember those 9 secret chats with the average person? Each would have an independent chat history, and no server-side search could tell you which one has that important message.
Temporary sessions
And if that wasn’t enough, desktop sessions tend to be a lot more transient. One of the important features of secret chats is that they are destroyed on your device when you log out. Most desktop users log out rather frequently. Telegram Web users do this even more often.
Each time a user logs out, this creates an unusable discarded chat on their partner’s device. Having them on Desktop and Web would mean a lot more such unusable chats cluttering our chat lists.
What about Secret Chats in the Mac OS native app?
The Mac OS native app, like many others, began as a third-party unofficial app. We always keep an eye out for what third-party developers are doing in our ecosystem. Sometimes features they implement become very popular and make their way to our official apps. This was not the case for Secret Chats in the Mac OS app, which enjoyed a statistically marginal existence. After the app became part of Telegram's official lineup, we did not cut this functionality in order to see if official status would change anything.
Several years later, statistics confirm our guesses about the viability of Secret Chats on desktops: same as before, only 2% of the Mac OS app users use them in that app. At the same time, all users of the Mac OS app actively use Secret Chats on their mobile devices – just like other Telegram users.
To sum up: No desktop Secret Chats
- Desktops are a much less personal environment, frequently monitored at work and left unattended at home. It’s easier to keep an eye on mobile devices.
- Implementing secure storage is more complicated in open desktop systems as opposed to sandboxed mobile environments. Secret Chats require storage to work.
- Secret Chats are single-device, so adding more potential sources would result in many Secret Chats with the same person. A mess in UI and no idea which chat to send your message to. You’re more likely to reach a person on the mobile phone.
- To find a message, you’d have to search across multiple Secret Chats with the same person on many devices. The server wouldn’t be able to tell you where to look.
- Logging out kills Secret Chats, temporary sessions create garbage chats on the partner's device.
- We may introduce Secret Chats to our desktop and web apps in the future, even though this requires a lot of work and careful planning.
Note: These arguments and templates are meant for the majority of Telegram users that use a mobile phone as their primary device. If a user tells us that they use their desktop as a primary device, these templates won't work as well. Such users require a different, bespoke approach.
The ‘Learn more’ template
Both templates in this manual have the line ‘Let me know if you want to learn more about security on Telegram’. Here's a general template you could give to a user who wants to learn more after getting one of them:
All Telegram data is encrypted and cannot be deciphered by your ISP, network administrator, or random hackers. Cloud chats are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud, and the keys needed to decipher this data are kept in other data centers spread across different jurisdictions. This way, local intruders or engineers can't access this data, and several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force us to give up anything. More on this in the FAQ: https://telegram.org/faq#q-do-you-process-data-requests
Secret chats are meant for people who want even more than that. They use end-to-end encryption, so there is no way to decipher your data without accessing your device. It means you don‘t even need to trust Telegram when you use Secret Chats — their secrecy is guaranteed client-side and anyone can check the source code of Telegram clients.
If you are concerned about security in general, there are other important precautions you could take. Consider protecting your account by enabling 2-Step Verification and setting up a strong passcode to lock your app, then it won’t be possible to access your chats by stealing your device or even by intercepting your SMS code. You will find both options in ‘Settings’ under ‘Privacy and Security,’ ask me if you’d like more details.
Note: Same as with any templates, please be very careful when sending this one. Take care to adapt the text in such a way that it fits the user‘s questions and situation perfectly. This is especially important when dealing with security-related questions. If you’re not sure you‘re qualified to continue the conversation, don’t hesitate to ask in your local group. There's always help!
Further reading
This text and templates should be enough for conversations with ordinary Telegram users. If you would like to go deeper down the rabbit hole, you can study this in-depth manual on End-to-End Encryption. If you have any questions about that one, contact Markus without hesitation. It’s very important that we understand everything.
This FAQ provides answers to basic questions about Telegram.
Check out our Advanced FAQ for more technical information.
Check out our Advanced FAQ for more technical information.
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Advanced FAQ
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Advanced FAQ
General Questions
Q: What is Telegram? What do I do here?
Telegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security, it’s super-fast, simple and free. You can use Telegram on all your devices at the same time — your messages sync seamlessly across any number of your phones, tablets or computers.
With Telegram, you can send messages, photos, videos and files of any type (doc, zip, mp3, etc), as well as create groups for up to 200,000 people or channels for broadcasting to unlimited audiences. You can write to your phone contacts and find people by their usernames. As a result, Telegram is like SMS and email combined — and can take care of all your personal or business messaging needs. In addition to this, we support end-to-end encrypted voice calls.
Q: Who is Telegram for?
Telegram is for everyone who wants fast and reliable messaging and calls. Business users and small teams may like the large groups, usernames, desktop apps and powerful file sharing options.
Since Telegram groups can have up to 200,000 members, we support replies, mentions and hashtags that help maintain order and keep communication in large communities efficient. You can appoint admins with advanced tools to help these communities prosper in peace. Public groups can be joined by anyone and are powerful platforms for discussions and collecting feedback.
In case you're more into pictures, Telegram has animated gif search, a state of the art photo editor, and an open sticker platform (find some cool stickers here or here). What's more, there is no need to worry about disk space on your device. With Telegram's cloud support and cache management options, Telegram can take up nearly zero space on your phone.
Those looking for extra privacy should check out our advanced settings and rather revolutionary policy. And if you want secrecy, try our device-specific Secret Chats with self-destructing messages, photos, and videos — and lock your app with an additional passcode.
We keep evolving — check out the blog and follow us on twitter and Telegram to stay in touch.
Q: How is Telegram different from WhatsApp?
Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram is a cloud-based messenger with seamless sync. As a result, you can access your messages from several devices at once, including tablets and computers, and share an unlimited number of photos, videos and files (doc, zip, mp3, etc.) of up to 2 GB each. And if you don't want to store all that data on your device, you can always keep it in the cloud.
Thanks to our multi-data center infrastructure and encryption, Telegram is faster and way more secure. On top of that, Telegram is free and will stay free — no ads, no subscription fees, forever.
Our API is open, and we welcome developers to create their own Telegram apps. We also have a Bot API, a platform for developers that allows anyone to easily build specialized tools for Telegram, integrate any services, and even accept payments from users around the world.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Don't forget to check out this paragraph for even more exclusive stuff.
Q: How old is Telegram?
Telegram for iOS was launched on August 14, 2013. The alpha version of Telegram for Android officially launched on October 20, 2013. More and more Telegram clients appear, built by independent developers using Telegram's open platform.
Q: Which devices can I use?
You can use Telegram on smartphones, tablets, and even computers. We have apps for iOS (9.0 and above), Android (4.1 and up) and Windows Phone. You can also use Telegram's web version or install one of our desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
You can log in to Telegram from as many of your devices as you like — all at the same time. Just use your main mobile phone number to log in everywhere.
Our API is open for developers, should you want to build your own applications for other platforms.
Q: Who are the people behind Telegram?
Telegram is supported by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. Pavel supports Telegram financially and ideologically while Nikolai's input is technological. To make Telegram possible, Nikolai developed a unique custom data protocol, which is open, secure and optimized for work with multiplet much we had to change. We don’t use your data for ad targeting, we don’t sell it to others, and we're not part of any mafia family “family of companies.”
Telegram only keeps the information it needs to function as a feature-rich cloud service — for example, your cloud chats so that you can access them from any devices without using third-party backups, or your contacts so that you can rely on your existing social graph when messaging people on Telegram. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.
You can use @GDPRbot to:
- Request a copy of all your data that Telegram stores.
- Contact us about Data Privacy.
Android users got a GDPR update with version 4.8.9 which allows more control over synced contacts and adds other privacy settings. On June, 1, Apple approved Telegram v.4.8.2 for iOS with these features.
Q: There's illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?
All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them.
But sticker sets, channels, and bots on Telegram are publicly available. If you find sticker sets or bots on Telegram that you think are illegal, please ping us at [email protected].
You can also use the 'report' buttons right inside our apps, see this post on our official @ISISwatch channel for details.
Note: If a scammer is pretending to be you, contact @NoToScam
Q: A bot or channel is infringing on my copyright. What do I do?
All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them. But sticker sets, channels, and bots on Telegram are publicly available.
If you see a bot, channel, or sticker set that is infringing on your copyright, kindly submit a complaint to [email protected]. Please note that such requests should only be submitted by the copyright owner or an agent authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
Q: Wait! 0_o Do you process take-down requests from third parties?
Our mission is to provide a secure means of communication that works everywhere on the planet. To do this in the places where it is most needed (and to continue distributing Telegram through the App Store and Google Play), we have to process legitimate requests to take down illegal public content (e.g., sticker sets, bots, and channels) within the app. For example, we can take down sticker sets that violate intellectual property rights or porn bots.
User-uploaded stickers sets, channels, and bots by third-party developers are not part of the core Telegram UI. Whenever we receive a complaint at [email protected] or [email protected] regarding the legality of public content, we perform the necessary legal checks and take it down when deemed appropriate.
Please note that this does not apply to local restrictions on freedom of speech. For example, if criticizing the government is illegal in some country, Telegram won't be a part of such politically motivated censorship. This goes against our founders' principles. While we do block terrorist (e.g. ISIS-related) bots and channels, we will not block anybody who peacefully expresses alternative opinions.
Q: My bot or sticker set was banned unfairly, what do I do?
If you think we banned your bot, channel, or sticker set for no apparent reasons, drop us a line at [email protected].
Q: Do you process data requests?
Secret chats use end-to-end encryption, thanks to which we don't have any data to disclose.
To protect the data that is not covered by end-to-end encryption, Telegram uses a distributed infrastructure. Cloud chat data is stored in multiple data centers around the globe that are controlled by different legal entities spread across different jurisdictions. The relevant decryption keys are split into parts and are never kept in the same place as the data they protect. As a result, several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force us to give up any data.
Thanks to this structure, we can ensure that no single government or block of like-minded countries can intrude on people's privacy and freedom of expression. Telegram can be forced to give up data only if an issue is grave and universal enough to pass the scrutiny of several different legal systems around the world.
To this day, we have disclosed 0 bytes of user data to third parties, including governments.
Telegram Basics
Q: Who can I write to?
You can write to people who are in your phone contacts and have Telegram. Another way of contacting people is to type their Telegram username into the search field.
You can set a public username for your Telegram account too. Other people will be able to search and find you by that username — and send messages to you even if they don't know your number. You can learn more about usernames here.
Q: How do I know who in my contacts has Telegram?
Your contacts, who have Telegram, are shown at the top of your Contacts. They also have pictures.
Q: How do I invite my friends?
iOS: The basic invitations are simple SMS messages. They will be charged as standard outgoing SMS by your carrier (unless sent via iMessage). Naturally, you have other options to bring your friends here. Try sending them a download link via any other messaging service: email, Facebook, WhatsApp, an actual telegram — you name it. The link: https://telegram.org/dl/
Android: Open the app menu (swipe right in chat list) > Invite Friends. Then choose an application via which you would like to send out invitations.
Windows Phone: Go to Contacts > Invite Friends. Then choose an application via which you would like to send out invitations.
You can give your friends a t.me link with your username so that they can easily find you on Telegram even if they don't have your phone number.
Q: What do the check marks mean?
One check — message delivered to the Telegram cloud and your friend has been notified if he allows notifications.
Two checks — message read (your friend opened Telegram and opened the conversation with the message).
Two checks — message read (your friend opened Telegram and opened the conversation with the message).
We don't have a 'delivered to device' status for messages because Telegram can run on as many devices as you want. So which particular one would that check mean?
Q: Can I hide my ‘last seen’ time?
You can choose who sees this info in Privacy and Security settings.
Remember that you won't see Last Seen timestamps for people with whom you don't share your own. You will, however, see an approximate last seen value. This keeps stalkers away but makes it possible to understand whether a person is reachable over Telegram. There are four possible approximate values:
- Last seen recently — covers anything between 1 second and 2-3 days
- Last seen within a week — between 2-3 and seven days
- Last seen within a month — between 6-7 days and a month
- Last seen a long time ago — more than a month (this is also always shown to blocked users)
Q: Who can see me 'online'?
The last seen rules apply to your online status as well. People can only see you online if you're sharing your last seen status with them.
There are some exceptions because sometimes it is obvious that you are online. Regardless of the last seen settings, people will see you online for a brief period (~30 seconds) if you do the following:
- Send them a message in a one-on-one chat or in a group where you both are members.
- Read a message they sent you in a one-on-one chat.
- Broadcast a “typing…” status to their chat with you or to a group where you both are members.
If you're not sharing your last seen timestamp with someone and don't do anything of the above, they'll never see you online. Another way of achieving this is to block that person.
Q: Can I delete my messages?
Yes. Previously, you could unsend your messages within 48 hours after sending them. As of Telegram 5.5, you can always delete any messages you sent or received in any one-on-one conversation (in groups, it's still your own messages only). You can also clear the entire chat history on both ends. On Telegram, deleted messages do not leave a mark in the chat.
Together with privacy settings for forwarded messages, this makes exchanging Telegram messages similar to talking face to face (without a tape recorder). As a result, our users no longer need to worry about the data accumulating in their chats over the years. Both parties in a conversation now have full control over what does and what doesn't belong to their online identity.
Q: Can I make calls via Telegram?
Yes! Voice calls are currently available to users around the world.
Q: How can I use emoticons in Telegram on my iOS device?
We support emoji emoticons. Simply enable the Emoji keyboard in your iOS device's Settings (General > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard… > Emoji). Then switch to that keyboard whenever you're out of words.
Groups and Channels
Q: What makes Telegram groups cool?
Telegram groups can have up to 200,000 members each and are extremely powerful communication tools. Here are a few key features that make them stand out in the messaging world:
Unified history
Edit your messages after posting, delete them so that they disappear for everyone.
Edit your messages after posting, delete them so that they disappear for everyone.
Cross-platform availability
Access your messages anytime, from any number of your mobile or desktop devices.
Access your messages anytime, from any number of your mobile or desktop devices.
Instant search
Find the message you're looking for, even among millions. Filter by sender to make searching easier.
Find the message you're looking for, even among millions. Filter by sender to make searching easier.
Replies, mentions, hashtags
Easily trace a conversation and keep communication efficient, no matter the group size.
Easily trace a conversation and keep communication efficient, no matter the group size.
Smart notifications
Mute the group to get notifications only when people mention you or reply to your messages.
Mute the group to get notifications only when people mention you or reply to your messages.
Pinned messages
You can pin any message to be displayed at the top of the chat screen. All members will get a notification — even if they muted ordinary messages from your group.
You can pin any message to be displayed at the top of the chat screen. All members will get a notification — even if they muted ordinary messages from your group.
Moderation tools
Appoint administrators that can mass-delete messages, control membership, and pin important messages. Define their admin privileges with granular precision.
Appoint administrators that can mass-delete messages, control membership, and pin important messages. Define their admin privileges with granular precision.
Group permissions
Set default permissions to restrict all members from posting specific kinds of content. Or even restrict members from sending messages altogether – and let the admins chat amongst themselves while everybody else is watching.
Set default permissions to restrict all members from posting specific kinds of content. Or even restrict members from sending messages altogether – and let the admins chat amongst themselves while everybody else is watching.
File sharing
Send and receive files of any type, up to 2 GB in size each, access them instantly on your other devices.
Send and receive files of any type, up to 2 GB in size each, access them instantly on your other devices.
Public groups
Get a short link for your group and make it public, like t.me/publictestgroup. This way, anybody can view the group's entire chat history and join to post messages.
Get a short link for your group and make it public, like t.me/publictestgroup. This way, anybody can view the group's entire chat history and join to post messages.
Customization via bots
Create custom tools for any specific needs using our Bot API and Inline Bots.
Create custom tools for any specific needs using our Bot API and Inline Bots.
Q: What's the difference between groups and channels?
Telegram groups are ideal for sharing stuff with friends and family or collaboration in small teams. But groups can also grow very large and support communities of up to 200,000 members. You can make any group public, toggle persistent history to control whether or not new members have access to earlier messages and appoint administrators with granular privileges. You can also pin important messages to the top of the screen so that all members can see them, including those who have just joined.
Channels are a tool for broadcasting messages to large audiences. In fact, a channel can have an unlimited number of subscribers. When you post in a channel, the message is signed with the channel's name and photo and not your own. Each message in a channel has a view counter that gets updated when the message is viewed, including its forwarded copies.
Q: How do I create a group?
iOS: Start a new message (tap the icon in the top right corner in Chats) > 'New Group'.
Android: Tap the circular pencil icon in the chat list > 'New Group'.
Telegram Desktop: Click the menu button in the top left corner > 'New Group'.
Android: Tap the circular pencil icon in the chat list > 'New Group'.
Telegram Desktop: Click the menu button in the top left corner > 'New Group'.
Q: Can I assign administrators?
You can add administrators to help you manage your group and define their privileges with granular precision.
iOS: Go to Group Info (tap the photo in the top right corner on the group‘s chat screen) > Edit > Administrators.
Android: Go to Group Info (tap the name in the header) > the pencil icon (in the top right corner) > Administrators.
Telegram Desktop: When in the group, click '…' in the top right corner > Manage group > Administrators.
Android: Go to Group Info (tap the name in the header) > the pencil icon (in the top right corner) > Administrators.
Telegram Desktop: When in the group, click '…' in the top right corner > Manage group > Administrators.
Q: How do I add more members? What's an invite link?
You can add your contacts, or using search by username.
It is easy to migrate existing groups to Telegram by sending people an invite link. To create an invite link, go to Group Info > Add Member > Invite to Group via Link.
Anyone who has Telegram installed will be able to join your group by following this link. If you choose to revoke the link, it will stop working immediately.
Usernames and t.me
Q: What are usernames? How do I get one?
You can set up a public username on Telegram. It then becomes possible for other users to find you by that username — you will appear in contacts search under 'global results'. Please note that people who find you will be able to send you messages, even if they don't know your number. If you are not comfortable with this, we advise against setting up a username in Telegram.
You can set up a username in Settings and use the universal search box in the chat list to search for chats, messages, and usernames.
Q: How does t.me work?
Once you've set up a username, you can give people a t.me/username link. Opening that link on their phone will automatically fire up their Telegram app and open a chat with you. You can share username links with friends, write them on business cards or put them up on your website.
This way people can contact you on Telegram without knowing your phone number.
Q: What can I use as my username?
You can use a-z, 0-9 and underscores. Usernames are case-insensitive, but Telegram will store your capitalization preferences (e.g. Telegram and TeleGram is the same user). The username must be at least five characters long.
Q: Do I need a username?
You don't have to get one. Remember that Telegram usernames are public and choosing a username on Telegram makes it possible for people to find you in global search and send you messages even if they don't have your number. If you are not comfortable with this, we advise against setting up a username.
Q: If someone finds me by username, messages and I reply — will they know my number?
No. Neither party will see another's phone number (unless this is permitted by your privacy settings). This is similar to the case when you message a person who you've met in a Telegram group.
Q: How do I delete my username?
Go to Settings and save an empty username. This will remove your username; people will no longer be able to find you via search. This will not affect existing conversations.
Q: What do I do if my username is taken?
Telegram usernames are distributed on a first come — first serve basis.
We understand that certain usernames are part of an online identity for some of us. If your desired username is already taken, we will be happy to help you acquire it for your account or channel, provided that you have that same username on at least two of these services: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
Due to the fact that one account can register multiple bot and channel usernames, we reserve the right to recall usernames assigned to unused bots and channels, as well as openly squatted usernames.
To request a username, contact @Username_bot.
Q: What if someone is pretending to be me?
If a scammer is pretending to be you, please contact @NoToScam.
Security
If you are an advanced user, you may find our FAQ for the Technically Inclined useful as well.
Q: How secure is Telegram?
Telegram is more secure than mass market messengers like WhatsApp and Line. We are based on the MTProto protocol (see description and advanced FAQ), built upon time-tested algorithms to make security compatible with high-speed delivery and reliability on weak connections. We are continuously working with the community to improve the security of our protocol and clients.
Q: What if I’m more paranoid than your regular user?
We've got you covered. Telegram’s special secret chats use end-to-end encryption, leave no trace on our servers, support self-destructing messages and don’t allow forwarding. On top of this, secret chats are not part of the Telegram cloud and can only be accessed on their devices of origin.
Q: So how do you encrypt data?
We support two layers of secure encryption. Server-client encryption is used in Cloud Chats (private and group chats), Secret Chats use an additional layer of client-client encryption. All data, regardless of type, is encrypted in the same way — be it text, media or files.
Our encryption is based on 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie–Hellman secure key exchange. You can find more info in the Advanced FAQ.
See also: Do you process data requests?
Q: Why should I trust you?
Telegram is open, anyone can check our source code, protocol and API, see how everything works and make an informed decision. Telegram supports verifiable builds, which allow experts to independently verify that our code published on GitHub is the exact same code that is used to build the apps you download from App Store or Google Play.
We welcome security experts to audit our system and appreciate any feedback at [email protected].
On top of that, Telegram's primary focus is not to bring a profit, so commercial interests will never interfere with our mission.
See also: articles about Telegram
Q: Do I need to trust Telegram for this to be secure?
When it comes to secret chats, you don't — just make sure that the visualized key of your secret chat matches the one in your friend's secret chat settings. More about this below.
Q: What if my hacker friend says they could decipher Telegram messages?
Anyone who claims that Telegram messages can be deciphered is welcome to prove that claim in our competition and win $300,000. You can check out the Cracking Contest Description to learn more.
Any comments on Telegram's security are welcome at [email protected]. All submissions which result in a change of code or configuration are eligible for bounties, ranging from $100 to $100,000 or more, depending on the severity of the issue. Please note that we can not offer bounties for issues that are disclosed to the public before they are fixed.
Q: Can Telegram protect me against everything?
Telegram can help when it comes to data transfer and secure communication. This means that all data (including media and files) that you send and receive via Telegram cannot be deciphered when intercepted by your internet service provider, owners of Wi-Fi routers you connect to, or other third parties.
But please remember that we cannot protect you from your own mother if she takes your unlocked phone without a passcode. Or from your IT-department if they access your computer at work. Or from any other people that get physical or root access to your phones or computers running Telegram.
If you have reasons to worry about your personal security, we strongly recommend using only Secret Chats in official or at least verifiable open-source apps for sensitive information, preferably with a self-destruct timer. We also recommend enabling 2-Step Verification and setting up a strong passcode to lock your app, you will find both options in Settings > Privacy and Security.
Q: How does 2-Step Verification work?
Logging in with an SMS code is an industry standard in messaging, but if you're looking for more security or have reasons to doubt your mobile carrier or government, we recommend protecting your cloud chats with an additional password.
You can do this in Settings > Privacy and Security > 2-Step Verification. Once enabled, you will need both an SMS code and a password to log in. You can also set up a recovery email address that will help regain access, should you forget your password. If you do so, please remember that it's important that the recovery email account is also protected with a strong password and 2-Step Verification when possible.
Check this out for tips on creating a strong password that is easy to remember.
Q: Why can jailbroken and rooted devices be dangerous?
Using a rooted or jailbroken device makes it easier for a potential attacker to gain full administrative control over your device — root access.
A user with root access can easily bypass security features built into the operating system, read process memory or access restricted areas, such as the internal storage. Once an attacker has root access, any efforts to mitigate threats become futile. No application can be called safe under these circumstances, no matter how strong the encryption.
Secret Chats
Q: How are secret chats different?
Secret chats are meant for people who want more secrecy than the average fella. All messages in secret chats use end-to-end encryption. This means only you and the recipient can read those messages — nobody else can decipher them, including us here at Telegram (more on this here). On top of this, Messages cannot be forwarded from secret chats. And when you delete messages on your side of the conversation, the app on the other side of the secret chat will be ordered to delete them as well.
You can order your messages, photos, videos and files to self-destruct in a set amount of time after they have been read or opened by the recipient. The message will then disappear from both your and your friend's devices.
All secret chats in Telegram are device-specific and are not part of the Telegram cloud. This means you can only access messages in a secret chat from their device of origin. They are safe for as long as your device is safe in your pocket.
Q: How do I start a secret chat?
iOS: Open the profile of the user you want to contact. Tap on ‘…’, then ‘Start Secret Chat’.
Android: Swipe right to open the menu, then 'New secret chat'.
Android: Swipe right to open the menu, then 'New secret chat'.
Remember that Telegram secret chats are device-specific. If you start a secret chat with a friend on one of your devices, this chat will only be available on that device. If you log out, you will lose all your secret chats. You can create as many different secret chats with the same contact as you like.
Q: How do self-destructing messages work?
The Self-Destruct Timer is available for all messages in Secret Chats and for media in private cloud chats.
To set the timer, simply tap the clock icon (in the input field on iOS, top bar on Android), and then choose the desired time limit. The clock starts ticking the moment the message is displayed on the recipient's screen (gets two check marks). As soon as the time runs out, the message disappears from both devices. We will try to send a notification if a screenshot is taken.
Please note that the timer in Secret Chats only applies to messages that were sent after the timer was set. It has no effect on earlier messages.
Q: Can I be certain that my conversation partner doesn't take a screenshot?
Unfortunately, there is no bulletproof way of detecting screenshots on certain systems (most notably, some Android and Windows Phone devices). We will make every effort to alert you about screenshots taken in your Secret Chats, but it may still be possible to bypass such notifications and take screenshots silently. We advise to share sensitive information only with people you trust. After all, nobody can stop a person from taking a picture of their screen with a different device or an old school camera.
Q: What is this 'Encryption Key' thing?
When a secret chat is created, the participating devices exchange encryption keys using the so-called Diffie-Hellman key exchange. After the secure end-to-end connection has been established, we generate a picture that visualizes the encryption key for your chat. You can then compare this image with the one your friend has — if the two images are the same, you can be sure that the secret chat is secure, and no man-in-the-middle attack can succeed.
Newer versions of Telegram apps will show a larger picture along with a textual representation of the key (this is not the key itself, of course!) when both participants are using an updated app.
Always compare visualizations using a channel that is known to be secure — it's safest if you do this in person, in an offline meeting with the conversation partner.
Q: Why not just make all chats 'secret'?
All Telegram messages are always securely encrypted. Messages in Secret Chats use client-client encryption, while Cloud Chats use client-server/server-client encryption and are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud (more here). This enables your cloud messages to be both secure and immediately accessible from any of your devices – even if you lose your device altogether.
The problem of restoring access to your chat history on a newly connected device (e.g. when you lose your phone) does not have an elegant solution in the end-to-end encryption paradigm. At the same time, reliable backups are an essential feature for any mass-market messenger. To solve this problem, some applications (like Whatsapp and Viber) allow decryptable backups that put their users' privacy at risk – even if they do not enable backups themselves. Other apps ignore the need for backups altogether and fade into oblivion before ever reaching a million users.
We opted for a third approach by offering two distinct types of chats. Telegram disables default system backups and provides all users with an integrated security-focused backup solution in the form of Cloud Chats. Meanwhile, the separate entity of Secret Chats gives you full control over the data you do not want to be stored.
This allows Telegram to be widely adopted in broad circles, not just by activists and dissidents, so that the simple fact of using Telegram does not mark users as targets for heightened surveillance in certain countries. We are convinced that the separation of conversations into Cloud and Secret chats represents the most secure solution currently possible for a massively popular messaging application.
See also: Why Telegram isn't End-to-End Encrypted “by Default”
Your Account
Q: Who can see my phone number?
On Telegram, you can send messages in private chats and groups without making your phone number visible. By default, your number is only visible to people who you've added to your address book as contacts. You can further modify this in Settings > Privacy and Security > Phone Number.
Note that people will always see your number if they know it already and saved it in their address book.
Q: I have a new phone number, what do I do?
Each phone number is a separate account on Telegram. You have several options if you are using multiple phone numbers:
- If you will no longer use the old number (e.g., you moved to a new country or changed your number for good), simply go to Settings and change the number connected to your Telegram account to the new number. Important: make sure you have access to your connected phone number – otherwise you risk losing access to your account.
- If you will use the new number for a limited time (e.g., you're on a trip or vacation), there's no need to do anything.
- If you want to keep using both numbers (e.g., you have a work phone and personal phone), choose one as your Telegram number. You may create another Telegram account on the second number as well, for example, if you want to keep work and personal chats separated. It is possible to log in to one Telegram app with up to 3 different accounts at once.
Q: How do I log out?
Most users don't need to log out of Telegram:
- You can use Telegram on many devices at the same time. Just use the same phone number to log in on all devices.
- You can go to Settings > Data and Storage > Storage Usage> Clear cache to free up space on your device without logging out.
- If you use Telegram with multiple phone numbers, you can switch between accounts without logging out.
- If you use Telegram on a shared device, you can set up a passcode in Settings > Privacy and Security to make sure only you have access to your account.
If you do want to log out for some reason, here's how you do that:
iOS: Go to Settings > Edit > Log out.
Android, Telegram Desktop: Go to Settings > … (in the top right corner) > Log out.
Android, Telegram Desktop: Go to Settings > … (in the top right corner) > Log out.
If you log out, you will keep all your cloud messages. However, you will lose all your Secret Chats and all messages inside those secret chats when you log out.
Note that logging out does not trigger remote deletion of your secret chat messages on your partner's device — to do that, choose 'Clear History' first.
Q: How do I change my phone number?
You can change your number in Telegram and keep everything, including all your contacts, messages, and media from the Telegram cloud, as well as all your Secret Chats on all devices.
To change your number, go to Settings, then tap on your phone number (just above the username), then 'Change Number'. If you already have a different Telegram account on the target number, you'll need to delete that account first.
Q: How do I delete my account?
If you would like to delete your account, you can do this on the deactivation page. Deleting your account permanently removes all your messages and contacts. All groups and channels that you've created are orphaned and left without a creator but admins retain their rights.
This action must be confirmed via your Telegram account and cannot be undone.
We recommend using a non-mobile browser for this process.
Note that you'll receive the code via Telegram, not SMS.
Note that you'll receive the code via Telegram, not SMS.
Q: What happens if I delete my account?
As was just mentioned above, all your data will be flushed from our system: all messages, groups, and contacts associated with your account will be deleted. That said, your contacts will still be able to chat in the groups that you have created, and they will still have their copy of the messages you sent them. So if you want to send messages that can vanish without a trace, try using our self-destruct timer instead.
Termination of a Telegram account is irreversible. If you sign up again, you will appear as a new user and will not get your history, contacts or groups back. People, who have your phone number in their contacts, will be notified. The new user will be displayed as a separate conversation in their messages list and their conversation history with this new user will be empty.
Q: How does account self-destruction work?
Telegram is not a commercial organization, and we value our disk space greatly. If you stop using Telegram and don't come online for at least six months, your account will be deleted along with all messages, media, contacts and every other piece of data you store in the Telegram cloud. You can change the exact period after which your inactive account will self-destruct in Settings.
Q: My phone was stolen, what do I do?
First of all, sorry about your phone. Unfortunately, the phone number is the only way for us to identify a Telegram user at the moment. We don't collect additional information about you, so whoever has the number, has the account. This means we can't help you unless you have access either to the phone number or to Telegram itself on any of your devices.
I have access to Telegram on another device
- Go to Telegram Settings > Privacy and Security and turn on Two-Step Verification. This way the phone number alone will not be enough to log in to your account.
- Go to Settings > Devices (or Privacy & Security > Active Sessions) and terminate your Telegram session on the old device. Whoever has your phone will not be able to log in again, since they don't know your password.
- Contact your phone provider, so that they block your old SIM and issue a new one with your number.
- If you decide to switch to a new phone number, don't forget to go to Settings, tap on your phone number and change your Telegram number to the new one.
I don't have access to Telegram on any other devices
- First and foremost, you need to contact your phone provider, so that they block your old SIM and issue a new one with your number.
- Wait till you receive your new SIM with the old number, log in to Telegram, then go to Settings > Devices (or Privacy & Security > Active Sessions) and terminate your Telegram session on the old device.
Removing sensitive data
Common thieves usually throw out the SIM card immediately (the phone is harder to locate this way), then wipe the devices and sell them, so there isn't much risk for the data in case of regular petty theft. But if you have reasons to worry about the data on the device and are unable to log out the other device, it is best that you wipe it remotely. You can read more about it here: Apple iOS, Android. Unfortunately, this requires you to have prepared in advance for this scenario.
You can delete your Telegram account if you are logged in on at least one of your other devices (mobile or desktop). Note that inactive Telegram accounts self-destruct automatically after a period of time — 6 months being the default setting.
Bots
If you're a developer, you may find our Bots FAQ more useful.
Q: What are bots?
Bots are like small programs that run right inside Telegram. They are made by third-party developers using the Telegram Bot API.
Q: How do I create a bot?
Creating Telegram bots is super-easy, but you will need at least some skills in computer programming. If you're sure you're up to it, our Introduction for Developers is a good place to start.
Unfortunately, there are no out-of-the-box ways to create a working bot if you are not a developer. But we're sure you'll soon find plenty of bots created by other people to play with.
Q: A bot is sending me messages, how do I make it stop?
If you don't want a bot to send you messages, feel free to block it – same as you would block a human user. Some Telegram clients have a 'Stop Bot' button right in the bot's profile.
That said, most bot developers offer commands that silence the bot, check its /help for clues.
Q: Are bots safe?
Yes. Bots are no different from human users that you meet in groups for example. They can see your public name, username, and profile pictures, and they can see messages you send to them, that's it. They can't access your last seen status and don't see your phone number (unless you decide to give it to them yourself).
Naturally, any bot should be treated as a stranger — don't give them your passwords, Telegram codes or bank account numbers, even if they ask nicely. Also, be careful when opening files sent by bots, same as you would deal with ordinary humans. Example: If a bot sent us a file called OpenMe.exe, we probably wouldn't open it.
Q: If I add a bot to my group, can it read my messages?
Bots can work in two modes when you add them to groups. By default, bots only see messages that are meant for them. In this case, you'll see 'has no access to messages' in the group members list next to the bot.
Some bots need more information to work, so developers may disable the privacy mode. In this case, the bot will see all messages sent to the group, and you will see 'has access to messages' in the members list next to the bot.
If your group contains very sensitive information, maybe it's better to avoid adding bots you don't trust 100%.
Q: Are bots made by Telegram?
No. While we have some official bots for specific purposes (like @gif or @GDPRbot), we don't usually make bots. Bots are made by third-party developers using the Telegram Bot API and platform.
Q: Where can I find more bots?
There is no official store at the moment, so you'll have to ask your friends or search the web for now. We're pretty sure you'll find some bots to play with.
Deeper questions
Q: Why not open source everything?
All code will be released eventually. We started with the most useful parts — a well-documented API that allows developers to build new Telegram apps, and open source clients that can be verified by security specialists.
Q: Can I run Telegram using my own server?
Our architecture does not support federation yet. Telegram is a unified cloud service, so creating forks where two users might end up on two different Telegram clouds is unacceptable. To enable you to run your own Telegram server while retaining both speed and security is a task in itself. At the moment, we are undecided on whether or not Telegram should go in this direction.
Q: Can I use the Telegram API?
Yes. Developers for all platforms are welcome to use our protocol, API and even source code. Check out the Getting started section of the docs.
Don't forget about our Bot API that lets you build cool stuff on our platform.
Q: Do you have a Privacy Policy?
Sure. Check this out.
Q: Why do you have two apps in the Mac App Store?
One is our app for macOS, the other is Telegram Lite, the macOS version of our multi-platform client. Both apps are official. Both started out as unofficial applications by two different developers and vary in design and functionality.
Telegram for macOS supports many platform-specific features, such as the MacBook Pro Touch Bar, gesture navigation, integration with the Mac's Share menu and more. It has every feature from the iOS version of the app including Secret Chats.
Telegram Lite is a lightning-fast app, optimized for work-related tasks and handling large communities. It offers a three-column interface, perfect for multitasking and quick access to media, files and links shared in your chats. This app can also be used to export your Telegram data and chats.
Q: Can I translate Telegram?
Telegram is officially available in English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Korean, Malay, Russian and Ukrainian on most platforms, and we are gradually expanding the list of languages built into the apps.
Telegram For Mac Secret Chat Bot
If you don’t like how a specific element in Telegram's interface is translated in your language, or would like to help us maintain the translation, check out our localization platform. Everyone can suggest translations and vote for the best ones, making Telegram localization a community-driven effort.
If you're looking to go beyond suggestions for individual phrases and would like to help us maintain the official translation to your language on a continuous basis, you can contact @TelegramAuditions. Please include a hashtag with the English name of your language (e.g. #Albanian) and a few links to phrases on this platform with your translation suggestions or comments. Be sure read the Style Guide carefully before you apply.
Q: Can I help?
Yes, we are always looking for volunteers to help us with user support. If you would be interested in answering questions about Telegram to users from your country, contact our auditions account.
Before you apply, please check out the Telegram Support Initiative.
Passport
Telegram Passport is a unified authorization method for services that require personal identification. With Telegram Passport, you can upload your documents once, then instantly share your data with services that require real-world ID (finance, ICOs, etc.).
Your identity documents and personal data will be stored in the Telegram cloud using End-to-End Encryption. To Telegram, this data is just random gibberish, and we have no access to the information you store in your Telegram Passport. When you share data, it goes directly to the recipient.
You can find more information about Telegram Passport on our blog.
If you're a developer or owner of a service that requires real-life ID, kindly take a look at this manual. You can also try requesting Telegram Passport data using this page.
Troubleshooting
Login and SMS
Please make sure you are entering your mobile phone number in the international format.
I.e.:
I.e.:
+(country code)(city or carrier code)(your number)
If you are having registration or login problems, please contact us using this form.
Getting a code via a phone call
For security reasons, login codes dictated via a phone call are only available for accounts that have two-step verification enabled (Settings > Privacy & Security > Two-Step Verification).
Please also note that Telegram accounts can only be connected to a mobile number. We currently don't support landline numbers.
Getting a code via Telegram
If you have recently used one of our apps on another device (it could also be a different app on the same device), we may send the login code via Telegram instead of SMS.
To receive such a code, just check Telegram from any of your connected devices. You will find it in the chat with Telegram, a verified profile with a blue check:
Login code sent via Telegram
WARNING! Please note that getting codes via Telegram should not be considered an alternative to using an up-to-date phone number. In case of a change in numbers, always make sure Telegram is connected to a phone number you control, otherwise you risk losing access to your account forever.
Notification problems
If the tips below don't help, check out this detailed guide on Troubleshooting Notification Issues.
ANDROID
- Go to Telegram Settings — Notifications and Sounds, make sure that notifications are ON and Importance is set to “High” or greater.
- Check whether contact or group is muted.
- Make sure Google Play Services are installed on your phone.
- Check notification priority for Telegram in Android settings, it can be called Importance or Behaviour depending on your device.
- If your phone uses some battery saving software, make sure that Telegram is whitelisted in that application.
NOTE: Huawei and Xiaomi devices have evil task killer services that interfere with the Telegram notification service. For our notifications to work, you need to add Telegram to allowed apps in those devices' security settings. Huawei: Phone Manager App > Protected Apps > Add Telegram to the list. Xiaomi: Services > Security > Permissions > Autostart, find Telegram and enable autostart.
iOS
- Go to Telegram Settings — Notifications and Sounds, make sure that notifications are ON in Telegram.
- Check that notifications are ON in phone Settings.
- Check, whether contact or group is muted.
- Shut down Telegram (go to home screen, double tap home button, kill Telegram (swipe upwards), then go to phone settings, set the alert style for Telegram to NONE. Relaunch Telegram, go to phone settings, set alert style back to banners.
Problems with contacts
If you know your friends have Telegram, but you can't see them — or they appear as numbers instead of names.
Android:
- Make sure you are using the latest version of the app.
- Relaunch the app (by terminating it from processes list and launching again).
- Temporarily change the name of the contact in phone contacts (add a few symbols, then change back again).
- If that didn't help, re-login. Remember that logging out kills your Secret Chats.
iOS:
- Force quit the app (double tap home button, then swipe up on Telegram), then relaunch and check if it helped.
- If that doesn't help, temporarily change the name of the contact in phone contacts (add a few symbols, then change back again).
- If that doesn’t work, re-login: Settings > Edit > Log Out. Remember that logging out kills all your Secret Chats. Then log in again.
Telegram Secret Chat Pc
Deleting contacts on Android
To delete a contact, open a chat with the person, tap on their profile photo in the top area of the chat screen, then tap on '…' in the top right corner > 'Delete'.
If you want to delete the contact completely, make sure you also delete them from your phone contacts. Telegram stays in sync and will add the contact back if you don't.
Where did my Secret Chat messages go?
Secret Chats are established between the two devices they were created on. This means that all those messages are not available in the cloud and cannot be accessed on other devices.
Moreover, Secret Chats are also tied to your current login session on the device. If you log out and in again, you will lose all your Secret Chats.
Can't send messages to non-contacts
When users report unwanted messages from a Telegram account, we apply a limit: Reported accounts can only send messages to people who have their number saved as a contact.
This means that if you randomly contact people you don't know and send them annoying messages, you may lose the ability to do so in the future.
If you think that this limit was applied to your account wrongly, please visit this page.
Telegram uses the camera or microphone in the background!
Telegram can use the microphone in the background if you minimize the app when making a call, recording a video, or recording a voice/video message.
Permission monitors on Samsung and Xiaomi can inadvertently flag and notify you that Telegram requested access to camera in the background. This happens when the app requests info about the camera — it isn’t using the camera. Unfortunately it may look the same to the Samsung and Xiaomi permission monitors.
Camera info is requested by the app when you tap on the attachment button, or start recording a video or a video message. If you do this and quickly close the app, the already initiated request may try to run asynchronously when the app is already in the background, or be sent when the system wakes up the app to show a notification about a new message. In any case, these requests are only for the camera info, the app never uses the camera itself in the background.
Anyone can check Telegram’s open source code and confirm that the app is not doing anything behind their back. We also offer reproducible builds that can help you prove that the version you downloaded from App Store or Google Play is built from the exact same source code we publish.
Telegram Support
If you have any other questions, please contact Telegram Support (in Telegram go to Settings — Ask a question). Note that we rely on volunteers for support.
If you can't log in to your account, please use this form.
Twitter?
Yep. Follow us! @telegram
Our twitter account in Spanish: @telegram_es
In Italian: @telegram_it
In Korean: @Telegram_kr
In German: @de_telegram
For users from Brazil: @Telegram_br
Our Arabic-speaking users may find @telegram_arabic more interesting.
Our twitter account in Spanish: @telegram_es
In Italian: @telegram_it
In Korean: @Telegram_kr
In German: @de_telegram
For users from Brazil: @Telegram_br
Our Arabic-speaking users may find @telegram_arabic more interesting.
@SmsTelegram, login help on Twitter
We have a special account that can help you with login problems, @smstelegram. This account is official. Don't be afraid to DM it the number you use for Telegram, we need this info to investigate issues.
Be careful, we don't have any other support accounts on any social media platforms.
Facebook?
Download Telegram For Mac
Facebook seems to have taken down our page for no apparent reason several months ago. Well, who cares, we weren't using it much anyway. (This was the address, in case you're curious: https://www.facebook.com/tlgrm). Right now, if anyone on Facebook is telling you they're us, they are not.