Open your profile settings, clear the username field, and save an empty value. The username is released immediately and your t.me link stops resolving to you.
Step by step
- Open Settings.
- Tap Edit profile, or the edit control next to your name.
- Select Username.
- Delete the text so the field is empty.
- Save. On desktop the change applies as soon as the field is cleared and confirmed.
What changes once it is gone
- People can no longer find you through Telegram's search by name.
- Your old t.me link stops pointing at your account. Anywhere you published that link now leads nowhere.
- Existing chats are unaffected. Everyone you already talk to keeps their conversation with you exactly as it was.
- Contacts who have your phone number saved can still find you, subject to your phone number privacy setting.
Before you clear it
A released username returns to the pool and someone else can claim it. If the name is associated with you publicly, that matters: whoever takes it next inherits every link you ever published, and anyone following an old link arrives at a stranger's profile believing it is yours. If your goal is simply to be harder to find rather than to give up the name, consider adjusting your privacy settings instead and keeping the username reserved.
Changing to a different username, rather than clearing it, releases the old one just the same. If the previous name was widely shared, keep it and point people to the new one for a while before letting it go.
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