The short answer
- 1One check means delivered, two checks mean read.
- 2Edit fixes a sent message; the bubble then shows edited to both of you.
- 3To delete for both sides, tick Also delete for in the Delete message window.
In this article
Sent is not final
On Telegram you can change a message after you send it, and in a one-to-one chat you can remove it from the other person's screen too. If you are coming from a messenger where a sent message is set in stone, this is the part that feels most different. This step goes in order: send, read the check marks, edit, delete.
Sending, and what the check marks mean
Type in the Message box at the bottom and tap the send button on the right. The check marks at the bottom right of your bubble tell you where it is:
| You see | It means |
|---|---|
| One check | Delivered to Telegram's servers; the other person has not read it yet |
| Two checks | Read. In a group, it means at least one member has read it |
| A small clock | Still sending, usually because the connection is weak |
Swipe to see more ›
- One check - sent, not read yet
Swipe to see more ›
- Two checks - the other person has opened the chat and read it
The second check appeared the moment the other person opened the chat. They did not reply, and they did not need to.
Press and hold the send button instead of tapping it and two more options appear: Schedule Message, which sends it at a time you choose, and Send Without Sound, which arrives without making the other person's phone ring. Both are handy late at night.
- Send — tap to send; press and hold for more options
- Schedule Message — send at a time you choose
- Send Without Sound — arrives silently
Opening the message menu
Everything else starts from the menu of one message. It holds Reply, Copy, Forward, Pin, Edit and Delete.
| Device | How to open it |
|---|---|
| Android | Tap the bubble once. Pressing and holding starts selecting several messages instead |
| iPhone | Press and hold the bubble |
| Computer | Right-click the bubble |
- When it was last edited
- Edit
- Delete
Editing: fix the typo instead of sending it again
- Open the menu on your own message and choose Edit.
- An Edit Message bar appears above the box, and your original text is put back into it.
- Make the change and tap the check mark button to save it.
- Edit Message — you are changing a message already sent
- Save the change
The bubble now shows edited next to the time. Nobody gets a new notification for the change, but both of you can see that it was changed, and the menu shows when.
Swipe to see more ›
- edited — both of you see that the message was changed
Edit is for small corrections: a typo, a wrong time, a missing word. If the meaning of the message changes, send a new one as well, because people who already read the old version will not be told. And if someone has already replied to the message, think twice: changing it can make their reply look like an answer to something else.
Messages that were sent a long time ago may no longer show Edit in the menu. Then send a new message and delete the old one.
Deleting: tick the box to remove it on both sides
- Open the menu on the message and choose Delete.
- In the Delete message window, tick Also delete for followed by the other person's name. On Android this box starts unticked; on other devices, look at it before you confirm.
- Tap Delete.
- Also delete for … — off at first; tick it to remove it on both sides
- Delete
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Without the tick, the message only disappears from your own screen and the other person keeps it. With it, it disappears for both of you, and in a one-to-one chat no "message deleted" note is left behind.
| Chat | What you can delete for everyone |
|---|---|
| One-to-one chat | Your messages and the ones you received |
| Group | Your own messages, with Delete for all members; other people's messages only if you are an admin with that right |
| Channel | Only admins can delete posts |
In large groups, admins can still see a deleted message, and the original text of an edited one, in the group's Recent Actions for 48 hours after the change.
Clearing a whole chat
The same tick appears when you remove a whole conversation rather than one message.
| You want to | Choose |
|---|---|
| Empty the messages but keep the chat in your list | Clear History |
| Remove the chat from your list entirely | Delete Chat |
| Stop being a member of a group | Leave Group; your old messages in it stay unless you delete them first |
On Android these are in the ⋮ menu at the top right of the open chat; on a computer, right-click the chat in your list. In the confirmation window, the box for the other person is again yours to tick, and again it decides whether they keep their copy.
Because chats live in the cloud, clearing one on your phone clears it on every device you are logged in to. There is no backup copy to restore it from.
If the problem is noise, not the chat
If you want a chat gone because it buzzes too much, muting or archiving it is usually the better fix: the chat stays, the interruptions go. Taming a cluttered chat list shows how. And for a conversation that should never pile up in the first place, an auto-delete timer is better than cleaning up afterwards.
Next step: sending photos as files or compressed.
FAQ
Can I delete a message from the other person's screen too?
In a one-to-one chat, yes. In the Delete message window, tick Also delete for followed by their name, then tap Delete.
Does the other person know I edited a message?
The bubble shows edited next to the time, so the change is visible. No separate notification is sent.
There is only one check mark.
The message reached Telegram's servers, but the other person has not read it yet. It turns into two checks when they do.
Can a deleted message be recovered?
No. Copies the other person already saved, screenshotted or forwarded are not removed either.
Sources
At a glance
- 1Check marks
One: delivered. Two: read. In a group, read by at least one member.
- 2Edit
Message menu › Edit. No new alert, but edited is shown to both.
- 3Delete for both
Message menu › Delete › tick Also delete for … › Delete.
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