The short answer
- 1On iPhone, Telegram's settings and iOS settings both shape notifications.
- 2Previews need Telegram's Message Preview and iOS Show Previews.
- 3Badges need iOS Badges on; Telegram's Badge Counter decides what is counted.
In this article
Two places decide what you see
On iPhone, a Telegram notification is shaped by Telegram's own settings and by iOS. When previews or badges are missing, one of the two has switched them off, and they often disagree:
| You notice | Telegram setting | iOS setting |
|---|---|---|
| Notifications say only "Telegram" or "New message", no text | Message Preview off | Show Previews set to When Unlocked or Never |
| No red number on the app icon | Badge counter options | Badges off for Telegram |
| Badge number looks wrong | Include Muted Chats, Count Unread Messages | None |
| No banners at all | Notifications for that chat type off | Allow Notifications off |
If Telegram notices that iOS has partly turned notifications off, it says so in its settings: "Please note that you partly disabled message notifications in your Settings." with an Open Settings button.
Previews: the message text in notifications
- Main menu (☰)
- Settings
- Notifications and Sounds
- Show message preview
- Settings tab
- Notifications
- Private Chats
- Show Message Previews
- Bottom Settings tab
- Notifications and Sounds
- Message Preview
- In Telegram, make sure Message Preview is on for private chats and for groups, as you prefer.
- In the iPhone's Settings, open Telegram, then Notifications, and set Show Previews to Always if you want text on the lock screen, or When Unlocked if you only want it once the phone is unlocked.
The same option exists on Android and Telegram Desktop under the names shown in the other tabs. Telegram for iPhone also has Names on Lock Screen; its help text explains that to hide names when the phone is locked, Show Previews in iOS must be set to "When Unlocked" or "Never" as well. In short: iOS has the final say on what the lock screen shows.
Badges: the number on the app icon
First check that Badges is on in the iPhone's Settings, Telegram, Notifications. Then look at Telegram's Badge Counter section in Notifications and Sounds:
- Include Muted Chats, Include Public Groups and Include Channels decide whether those chats add to the number. If the badge seems too high, these are usually on.
- Count Unread Messages: on, the badge counts messages; off, it counts chats. "Switch off to show the number of unread chats instead of messages."
A badge that stays after everything is read usually clears after opening the app and letting it sync. If it does not, a chat in an archive or folder may still have unread messages.
If nothing helps
Telegram's FAQ has an iPhone-specific reset: close Telegram, set its alert style to None in the iPhone's Settings, open Telegram again, then set the alert style back to Banners. Telegram's own Reset All Notifications, at the bottom of Notifications and Sounds, returns every custom chat setting to default. For general checks, see notifications not arriving.
Next step: no desktop notifications, or desktop and phone ring twice.
FAQ
Why don't Telegram notifications show message text on my iPhone?
Message Preview may be off in Telegram, or Show Previews in the iPhone's Settings is set to When Unlocked or Never.
Why is there no badge on the Telegram icon?
Badges may be off for Telegram in the iPhone's notification settings.
Why is my Telegram badge number so high?
Muted chats, public groups or channels may be included in Telegram's Badge Counter settings.
Sources
At a glance
- 1Previews
Message Preview on; iOS Show Previews Always or When Unlocked.
- 2Badges
iOS Badges on; Include Muted Chats and Count Unread Messages.
- 3Reset
Alert style None, then Banners; or Reset All Notifications.
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