Official Telegram FAQ & Knowledge Hub
The complete, verified archive of official questions and answers directly from telegram.org. Instant live search by keywords, category filtering, and direct question permalinks.
What is Telegram? What do I do here?
Telegram is a messaging app built around speed, security and being free. It has over a billion active users and is one of the five most downloaded applications in the world. What makes it different from the start Your messages live with...
Who is Telegram for?
Anyone who wants messaging and calls that are fast and reliable. Beyond that, Telegram tends to suit three groups particularly well, for quite different reasons. Communities Groups hold up to 200,000 members, and the tools exist to keep a group that size...
How is Telegram different from WhatsApp?
The fundamental difference is where your messages live. Telegram is cloud-based with seamless sync; WhatsApp is built around one phone that holds the history. Almost every other difference follows from that. The practical consequences Telegram Devices at onceAs many as you like...
How old is Telegram?
Telegram launched in August 2013, starting on iOS with an Android release following within weeks. It has been running continuously since. The turns that shaped it YearWhat changed 2013Launch, with Secret Chats and cloud sync from the start 2014Desktop clients and the...
Which devices can I use?
Telegram runs on phones, tablets and computers, and you can be signed in on as many devices as you like at the same time. One phone number, one account, everywhere. The apps PlatformRequirement iOS13.0 and above Android5.0 and up macOSA native app...
Who are the people behind Telegram?
Telegram is supported by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. Pavel backs the project financially and sets its direction. Nikolai's contribution is technical, and it is the reason the service behaves the way it does. What Nikolai built He designed the custom...
Where is Telegram based?
The development team is based in Dubai. It has moved before, and the team has said plainly that it would move again if local regulations made that necessary. How it got there WhereWhy it changed St PetersburgWhere most of the original engineers...
Will you have ads in my private chats and groups? Or sell my data? Or steal my beloved and enslave my children?
No. Telegram does not put ads in private chats, in groups, or anywhere else in your personal conversations, and it does not sell user data to anyone. Advertising exists in exactly one place on the platform, and you can switch it off....
How are you going to make money out of this?
Telegram is free and stays free. It was financed for most of its history by founder Pavel Durov personally, and it has since added forms of monetisation chosen so that users are not the product being sold. What was introduced, and when...
What are your thoughts on internet privacy?
Privacy on the internet comes down to two separate promises, and they are often confused with one another. One is that your conversations stay between the people in them. The other is that your data is not turned into a product. A...
What about GDPR?
GDPR came into force across Europe on 25 May 2018, and Telegram had little to change. The regulation requires what the service was built around: not using personal data for advertising, not selling it, and keeping only what is needed to operate....
There's illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?
Use the Report button, which is built into every Telegram app and takes a few taps. For bulk or formal requests there is also an automated takedown address, abuse@telegram.org. Reporting from the app PlatformHow AndroidTap the message, then choose Report from the...
How do I send a request under EU Regulation 2021/784?
Regulation (EU) 2021/784, adopted on 29 April 2021 and known as the Terrorist Content Online Regulation, lets authorities in EU member states issue removal orders for terrorist content found on Telegram's public platform. Telegram has designated a European Digital Services Representative (EDSR)...
A bot or channel is infringing on my copyright. What do I do?
Send a complaint to dmca@telegram.org. This applies to Telegram's public platform: channels, public groups, bots and sticker sets. Private chats and private groups are private between their participants, and requests about them are not processed. The line that decides whether a complaint...
Do you process take-down requests from third parties?
Yes, for illegal public content: sticker sets, bots, groups and channels that anyone can reach. This is necessary both to serve users in the places that need the service most and to keep the apps distributed through the App Store and Google...
My bot or sticker set was banned unfairly, what do I do?
Write to abuse@telegram.org and explain the situation. If the ban affects a bot specifically, @BotSupport is the faster route. Appeals are read by people, so a clear, specific message is worth far more than a repeated one. What to put in the...
Do you process data requests?
For Secret Chats there is nothing to disclose, because end-to-end encryption means no readable copy exists on any server. For cloud chats, the infrastructure is deliberately built so that no single request reaches everything needed to read anything. How the infrastructure is...
Who can I write to?
You can write to anyone you can identify, and there are several ways to identify them. A phone number is only one of them, and increasingly the least used. The ways to start a conversation A contact. Anyone in your address book...
Who can contact me?
Someone can contact you if they know your phone number, or if you message them first. Without your number, there are two further routes, and both are under your control. The ways a stranger can reach you RouteHow to close it They...
How do I know who in my contacts has Telegram?
Contacts who already use Telegram appear at the top of your Contacts list, above everyone else, and they usually have a profile photo. Telegram compares your address book against its user base and surfaces the matches for you. Where to look on...
How do I invite my friends?
There is a built-in invite flow on each platform, but the most reliable method on any of them is simply sending someone the link: https://telegram.org/dl/. It works through any channel and costs nothing. The built-in options PlatformHowWorth knowing iOSInvitations are sent as...
What do the check marks mean?
One check means delivered. Two checks mean read. There is no separate "delivered to device" state, and that absence is deliberate. What each one actually tells you MarkMeaning ClockStill sending. Your connection, not theirs. One checkThe message reached the Telegram cloud, and...
Can I hide my ‘last seen’ time?
Yes. Choose who sees it under Settings, Privacy and Security, Last Seen and Online. There is one condition attached, and it is deliberate. The reciprocity rule If you hide your last seen time from someone, you will not see theirs either. You...
Who can see me 'online'?
The same people who can see your last seen time can see when you are online. It is one setting, not two, and it is under Settings, Privacy and Security. The exceptions, and why they exist Regardless of your setting, people will...
Can I delete my messages?
Yes, and more thoroughly than most people expect. In a one-to-one chat you can delete any message, including ones the other person sent, for both sides. Deleted messages leave no trace at all, not even a "message deleted" marker. What you can...
Can I make calls via Telegram?
Yes, and all of it is end-to-end encrypted. Voice calls, video calls and group calls with up to 200 participants are covered, and the encryption on a group call can be verified by the participants themselves at any point. The three kinds...
Can I broadcast to a large audience?
Yes. That is what channels are for, and they have no subscriber limit. A channel is a one-way feed: administrators post, and everybody else reads. Channel or group ChannelGroup Audience sizeUnlimitedUp to 200,000 Who can postAdministrators onlyMembers, subject to permissions Best forAnnouncements...
How can I use emoticons?
Type an emoji from your keyboard's emoji panel, or open the sticker and emoji panel inside Telegram next to the message field. Both insert into the message you are writing. The panel holds three different things Emoji. The standard set, the same...
What makes Telegram groups cool?
Groups hold up to 200,000 members, and the surrounding tools are built for communities at that scale rather than for a slightly larger chat. For everyone in the group Unified history. Edit a message after posting, or delete it so it disappears...
What's the difference between groups and channels?
A group is a conversation. A channel is a broadcast. That single difference decides which one you want, and almost everything else follows from it. Side by side GroupChannel Who can postMembers, subject to permissionsAdministrators only SizeUp to 200,000Unlimited View countsNoOn every...
How do I create a group?
Groups are created from the new message button. The exact wording differs slightly across platforms, but the sequence is the same everywhere: start a new message, choose to create a group, pick the people, name it. Step by step Tap the new...
Can I assign administrators?
Yes. You can appoint administrators and set exactly which powers each one gets, rather than handing over full control. This is the single most useful thing to configure before a group grows. Where to find it PlatformPath iOSTap the photo in the...
How do I add more members? What's an invite link?
Add people from your contacts, search for them by username, or send an invite link. For anything beyond a handful of people, the invite link is the practical answer. Creating an invite link Open Group Info. Choose Add Member. Choose Invite to...
Can channels and subscribers talk to each other?
Not inside the channel itself. A channel is a broadcast, so only administrators can post there. Conversation happens in a discussion group linked to the channel, and that is the intended arrangement rather than a workaround. How the link works Open the...
What are usernames? How do I get one?
A username is a public name for your account. Once set, people can find you by searching it, and you appear under global results. They can then message you without knowing your phone number. Setting one Open Settings. Tap Edit profile, or...
What are Collectible Usernames? How are they different from basic usernames?
Collectible usernames behave exactly like ordinary ones in Telegram. The difference is ownership: a collectible username is a permanent asset recorded on the TON blockchain, so it can be bought, sold and transferred rather than merely held. Side by side Basic usernameCollectible...
How does t.me work?
Once you set a username, Telegram gives you a web address. Both t.me/username and username.t.me work, and opening either on a phone launches the Telegram app straight into a chat with you. What the link is for Putting a contact point on...
What can I use as my username?
A username may contain letters a to z, digits 0 to 9, and underscores. It must be five to thirty-two characters long and must begin with a letter. Usernames are case-insensitive, so Telegram and TeleGram are the same account, though the capitalisation...
Do I need a username?
No, a username is optional. Telegram works completely without one. What it changes is how people reach you, and for most people that turns out to be worth having. Without a username People need your phone number to start a conversation, or...
If someone finds me by username, messages and I reply — will they know my number?
No. Replying to someone who found you by username does not reveal your phone number. The username exists precisely so that people can reach you without it. What the other person actually sees Your display name, and your profile photo if your...
How do I delete my username?
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....
What do I do if my username is taken?
It depends which kind of username it is. Telegram has basic usernames, handed out first come first served, and collectible usernames, which are owned assets recorded on the TON blockchain. If it is a basic username Telegram can help you acquire it...
What if someone is pretending to be me?
Report the account to @NoToScam, the team that handles impersonation and scam reports. Send the impersonator's username or profile link and screenshots of what they sent to people. Reports with evidence are acted on considerably faster than reports without. Report it from...
How secure is Telegram?
Telegram encrypts everything, but not all chats are encrypted in the same way, and the difference decides what the answer means for you. Secret Chats are end-to-end encrypted. Cloud chats are encrypted in transit and at rest. The two modes side by...
What if I’m more paranoid than your regular user?
Then use the tools built for exactly that, and understand what each one actually does. Being cautious is not the same as being helpless; it is a matter of knowing which switch changes which risk. Start here Two-step verification. Settings, Privacy and...
So how do you encrypt data?
Telegram uses two layers of encryption, and which layers apply depends on the kind of chat. Cloud chats use server-client encryption. Secret Chats add a second, client-to-client layer on top of it. The primitives ComponentUsed for 256-bit symmetric AESEncrypting the message content...
Why should I trust you?
The better question is what you can check instead of trusting, and Telegram is built so that the answer is: quite a lot. The source code, the protocol and the API are all open, and the apps support verifiable builds. What is...
Do I need to trust Telegram for this to be secure?
It depends on which kind of chat you mean, and the honest answer differs for each. Secret Chats require no trust in Telegram at all. Cloud chats require some, and the design is built to keep that requirement as small as possible....
What if my hacker friend says they could decipher Telegram messages?
Then they are welcome to prove it. Telegram runs a cracking contest with a prize of $300,000 for anyone who can actually decipher messages, alongside an ongoing Bug Bounty Program. The offer has stood for years. Why the contest is the right...
Can Telegram protect me against everything?
No, and it is worth being precise about where the protection ends. Telegram secures data in transit and communication between people. It cannot secure a device that somebody else is holding. What it does protect against Everything you send and receive, including...
How does 2-Step Verification work?
Two-step verification adds a password on top of the SMS login code. With it enabled, signing in requires both, so a code alone is not enough for anybody to take the account. It is the single most valuable setting in Telegram. Turning...
Why can jailbroken and rooted devices be dangerous?
Rooting or jailbreaking removes the operating system's own boundaries between applications. Once those are gone, no application can protect its data, and that includes any messenger. What root access lets an attacker do Read another app's memory while it runs, which exposes...
What is Cocoon?
Cocoon is a secure, open-source and decentralised platform for running AI models. Telegram built it, and uses it to power its own AI features without handing conversations to a third-party provider. The problem it exists to solve Adding AI features to a...
Do Telegram's AI features upload data to third parties?
No. Telegram's own AI features run on Cocoon and never send data to a third party. Processing happens inside an isolated, encrypted environment where the content stays inaccessible. Which features this covers Translation of messages and posts. Custom tones, for rewriting how...
What AI model does Telegram use?
Telegram's AI features run on Cocoon, a secure, open-source, decentralised AI platform that Telegram built for exactly this purpose. The question of which specific model is secondary to the question of where it runs, and that is the part Cocoon answers. Why...
How are secret chats different?
Secret Chats are for conversations that need more secrecy than the default. Everything in them is end-to-end encrypted, so only you and the recipient can read the messages. Nobody else can, including Telegram. What you get End-to-end encryption. The keys are generated...
How do I start a secret chat?
Open the profile of the person you want to talk to, tap the menu, and choose Start Secret Chat. It opens as a separate conversation alongside your ordinary one with them. Step by step Open a chat with the person, or find...
How do self-destructing messages work?
The Self-Destruct Timer removes a message from both devices once the time runs out. It is available for all messages in Secret Chats, and for media in ordinary private chats. Setting it Open the chat. Tap the clock icon, in the input...
Can I be certain that my conversation partner doesn't take a screenshot?
No, and no messenger can promise otherwise. Telegram makes every effort to alert you when a screenshot is taken in a Secret Chat, but on some platforms detection can be bypassed, and no software can stop somebody photographing the screen with a...
What is this 'Encryption Key' thing?
When a Secret Chat is created, the two devices agree a shared key directly using a Diffie-Hellman key exchange. Telegram then renders that key as a picture. If you and your correspondent see the same image, the connection is genuinely between you...
Why not just make all chats 'secret'?
Because end-to-end encryption has no good answer to a lost phone, and the answers other messengers chose are worse than they look. All Telegram messages are securely encrypted; the two chat types differ in where the keys live, and that is a...
Who can see my phone number?
By default, only people you have saved as contacts can see your number. You can message anyone in private chats and groups without exposing it, and you can tighten the setting further. Changing it Open Settings. Go to Privacy and Security. Choose...
I have a new phone number, what do I do?
Each phone number is a separate Telegram account, so what to do depends on whether the old number is gone for good or you intend to use both. If you are done with the old number Change the number on your existing...
How do I log out?
Most people never need to. Signing out is rarely the answer to the problem that prompts it, and on Telegram it has a specific cost: it destroys every Secret Chat on that device. What you probably want instead If you want toDo...
How do I change my phone number?
You can move your account to a new number and keep everything: contacts, messages, media in the cloud, and even your Secret Chats on every device. Nothing is lost and nobody has to re-add you. How to do it Open Settings. Tap...
How do I delete my account?
Account deletion is done on the deactivation page on telegram.org, not inside the app. It permanently removes all your messages and contacts, must be confirmed through your Telegram account, and cannot be undone. How to do it Open the deactivation page on...
What happens if I delete my account?
Everything held on your account is removed from Telegram: all messages, groups and contacts associated with it. The deletion is irreversible. There are two consequences people usually do not expect. What survives, and why Groups and channels you created keep running. They...
How does account self-destruction work?
If you stop using Telegram entirely, the account deletes itself after a period of inactivity. The default is 18 months, and you can shorten it in Settings. What "inactive" means The timer counts from the last time you came online. Simply opening...
Can I delete my data without deleting my account?
Yes. Most of your data can be removed while the account stays exactly as it is, and the controls are more thorough than people expect. Deleting messages and chats Tap a message, or press and hold to select several. To remove whole...
My phone was stolen, what do I do?
A phone number is the only way an account is identified, and nothing else is collected about you. That has a blunt consequence: whoever controls the number controls the account. Act in this order. 1. Contact your carrier first Ask them to...
What does Profile Rating mean?
Profile Rating is a numerical badge on a profile, based on the total volume of successful Telegram Stars transactions that account has made. It is a track record, not a popularity score or a review average. What moves it Raises itLowers it...
What is a Passkey?
A passkey lets you sign in to Telegram the same way you unlock your device, with a PIN or with biometrics such as a fingerprint or face recognition. It is an additional login method that works instead of an SMS code. Setting...
What is a Frozen Account?
A frozen account is one that has been restricted after reports from other users. While it is frozen you can still read your chats, but you cannot send messages or post anything. What still works WorksDoes not work Reading your chatsSending messages...
What are bots?
A bot is a Telegram account operated by software rather than a person. You open a chat with it exactly as you would with anyone else, and it answers automatically. There is nothing to install and no separate app. What people use...
How do I create a bot?
Register the bot with @BotFather, then write the code that answers its messages. Registration takes about a minute. The code is the part that requires some programming, and there is no way round that: a bot is a program, so somebody has...
A bot is sending me messages, how do I make it stop?
Open the chat with the bot and use Stop Bot, or block it. Either one ends the messages immediately, and neither requires you to contact anyone. Stopping it Open the chat with the bot. Tap the bot's name at the top to...
Are bots safe?
Yes, in the sense that matters technically: a bot sees no more about you than any stranger in a group does. What it can see is your public name, your username, your profile photos, and the messages you send to it. That...
If I add a bot to my group, can it read my messages?
It depends on the bot's privacy mode, and Telegram shows you which one applies. By default a bot sees only messages meant for it. Some bots need more, and when they do, the group members list says so explicitly. The two modes...
Are bots made by Telegram?
No. Almost every bot on Telegram is built by an independent developer using the open Bot API. Telegram maintains the platform the bots run on and a small number of official utilities, but it does not write, review or endorse the bots...
What are mini apps?
Mini apps are full applications that run inside Telegram. Outside developers build them on top of the bot platform, and they can have their own interface, payments and subscriptions, so they behave like ordinary apps without being installed. Where to find them...
Can I get Telegram's server-side code?
No, and the reasoning is worth following, because "open source the server" sounds like it would help more than it does. All client apps are fully open source, and iOS and Android support verifiable builds. Publishing the server code would add no...
Can I run Telegram using my own server?
No. Telegram is a single unified cloud and does not support federation, so there is no supported way to run your own server and have it interoperate. Why it is built that way Federation would mean two users could end up on...
Can I use the Telegram API?
Yes. The protocol, the client API and the client source code are all open, and developers on any platform are welcome to use them. There are two separate routes in, and picking the right one saves a great deal of work. Bot...
Do you have a Privacy Policy?
Yes. The policy is published in full at telegram.org/privacy, and unlike most policies of its kind it is written to be read rather than to be scrolled past. What it actually tells you What is stored. Cloud chats, contacts you chose to...
What does the iOS privacy sheet mean?
The privacy sheet is the summary Apple shows on every App Store listing, describing what categories of data an app may collect. It is a category list, not a measurement, and reading it as one is the source of most of the...
Why do you have two apps in the Mac App Store?
Both are official. They exist because two different independent developers built Telegram clients for macOS, and Telegram adopted both rather than discarding one. They differ in design and in what they support. The two apps Telegram for macOSTelegram Lite Built asA native...
Can I translate Telegram?
Yes. Telegram's translations are run by the community through an open localisation platform, where anyone can suggest wordings and vote on the suggestions of others. The app already ships in many languages on most platforms, and more keep arriving. How to contribute...
Can I help?
Yes. The most direct way is the Telegram Support Initiative, a volunteer programme that answers user questions in their own language. If you want to help people in your country, apply through the auditions account listed on the initiative's page. What volunteer...
Login and SMS
The usual cause is the number format. Telegram needs it in full international form, which means the country code first and no leading zero on the local part. The correct format PartExample Country code+44, +1, +82 Area or carrier codewithout its leading...
Getting a code via a phone call
Telegram can dictate the login code in an automated phone call, but only for accounts that have two-step verification switched on. This is a deliberate restriction, not an availability problem. Turning it on While signed in, open Settings. Go to Privacy and...
Getting a code via Telegram
If you have recently used Telegram on another device, the login code is sent inside Telegram rather than by SMS. Check any device where you are still signed in, and look for the chat with Telegram, a verified account with a blue...
Notification problems
Notification problems are nearly always the operating system rather than Telegram, and on Android they are usually battery management. Work through the checks for your platform in order. Android Open Telegram Settings, Notifications and Sounds. Confirm notifications are on and Importance is...
Problems with contacts
Contacts that appear as bare numbers, or do not appear at all, are almost always a sync problem rather than a lost account. The fix is to make Telegram re-read your address book. Android Update to the latest version of the app....
Deleting contacts on Android
Delete the contact from their profile in Telegram, then delete them from your phone's address book as well. If you only do the first, Telegram's contact sync will add them back. In Telegram Open the chat with the person. Tap their name...
Where did my Secret Chat messages go?
Secret Chats live on the two devices that created them and nowhere else. They are not in the cloud, which is why they do not appear on your other devices and cannot be restored. The two rules that explain every case Device-bound....
Can't send messages to non-contacts
This limit is applied to accounts that other users have reported for unwanted messages. While it is active, you can only message people who have your number saved as a contact. What it looks like Messages to people who do not have...
Can't send a message, I am being asked for Stars
Some people charge a small fee, paid in Telegram Stars, for messages from anyone not in their contacts. This is a Star Message, and it exists to make bulk unsolicited messaging expensive. How it works The cost is shown before you send...
Telegram uses the camera or microphone in the background!
Telegram can use the microphone in the background, and there is a normal reason for it. It does not use the camera in the background, even though some phones report that it does. The microphone If you minimise the app while making...