Telegram is among the most popular messaging apps, used for everything from chatting with friends to hosting group chats with colleagues. But if you’re worried about whether Telegram is safe or simply want to get rid of one of your many chat apps to reduce distractions, you may want to delete your account.
There are multiple different ways to delete your Telegram account, and you may be unsure which actions to take – but don’t worry, we’re here to help. This step-by-step guide takes you through deleting your Telegram account and exporting your data.
Key Takeaways
- Deleting your Telegram account takes only a few steps, but there are two different ways to do it.
- Once you delete your account, it’s gone forever. There’s no period of time for “deactivation” before deletion, as is common with many other apps and platforms.
- If you want to save or back up any data before deleting your Telegram account, make sure to export it properly. You can export your account info, contacts, conversations, and more.
How To Delete Your Telegram Account: 2 Ways
Unlike many other apps and platforms, Telegram offers two different types of deletion.
The first method takes just a few clicks but forces you to wait at least a month until the account gets deleted. The second method is a longer process but removes the account immediately.
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On the app, you can do the first method only. If you want to delete your Telegram account ASAP, use a mobile or desktop browser.
Also, keep in mind that if you have a 6-month period of inactivity where you don’t come online, your Telegram account is automatically deleted. However, you can raise this to a year in your settings.
Deleting your account from the App
Follow these steps to delete your account from the Telegram app:
- Open the Telegram app and go to Settings.
- Click on Privacy and Security.
- Scroll to the Delete My Account section, and choose how long until the account deletes. You can adjust the time period from 1 year, to 6 months, to 3 months, to 1 month.
- Once you’ve selected your preferred time frame, wait for it to pass and the account self-destructs.
Deleting your account from a computer
If you want to immediately delete your Telegram account, you need to:
- Visit the Telegram deactivation page on your mobile or desktop browser.
- Provide the phone number you used to create your account and click Next.
- You’ll get a confirmation message in your Telegram app with a code.
- Enter the confirmation code in the field that asks for it, and press Sign In.
- Provide the reason you’re deleting your account (optional), and click Delete My Account.
Beware that if you change your mind after deleting your Telegram account, you’re out of luck. There’s no deactivation period; once you delete it, your account is gone for good.
Also, you’ll need to wait a couple of days before signing up for a new account using the same phone number.
How To Export Your Data From Telegram
Because Telegram instantly removes all your data once you delete your account, it’s important to export your data if you want to preserve it. The data you can export from Telegram includes:
- Account information
- Contact lists
- Chat history
- Photos
- Videos
- Voice messages
- Story archives
To export all your data at once, follow these steps:
- Log in to Telegram on your computer, and click on the horizontal bars in the top left corner.
- Click Settings, and then Advanced.
- Scroll down and click on Export Telegram Data.
- A menu pops up that lets you choose the data you want to export.
- Once you’ve chosen the data you want, click Export.
- After the export, click Show My Data to see where it’s saved on your computer.
Final Thoughts
While Telegram is a popular, user-friendly messaging service, there are several reasons someone may want to delete their account. Fortunately, you now know that deleting an account takes just a few steps and can be done via the Telegram app or a computer.
If you’re on a bit of a social media cleanse, check out our guides on how to delete Instagram and how to delete Facebook.
