Protect yourself and your communications when using Telegram

اپډېټ شوی دی 5 November 2025

Telegram is one of the most popular messaging services in the world. Its security features have long been debated, especially because the software used in the servers isn't open-source and end-to-end encryption is only available for 1:1 chats and isn't enabled by default. We suggest limiting its use to broadcasting news to a wider audience and to use more secure messaging apps to exchange confidential messages with individuals and private groups. The Telegram app is available for all major operating systems, but an account can only be created by installing it on a smartphone and by receiving an SMS message or a phone call.

Read this guide to learn how to use Telegram more safely and how to secure your account.

Also see our guide on how to use messaging apps more securely to learn how to protect yourself when using chat tools for 1:1 and group communications.

Telegram is developed and managed by a company Telegram Messenger Inc., a company led by Russian billionaire Pavel Durov with headquarters in the British Virgin Islands and in the United Arab Emirates. When using such commercial, corporate products, it's a good idea to consider whether relying on is safe enough to exchange sensitive information. Commercial corporations like Telegram might not share your values even if they promise to secure your communications – they might be able to access information on you, your contact network and the contents you exchange (even if encrypted) and even hand it over to authorities in case they receive an official request.

Inform yourself about Telegram's policies

Learn how Telegram uses your information

• You can find a clarification of Telegram's terms of service on Terms of Service; Didn't Read.
• Learn about Telegram's privacy policy.
• Also review their terms of service and FAQ.

Consider that Telegram doesn't clearly declare what it will turn over to governments or law enforcement

Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France in September 2024 for not collaborating with law enforcement on a child abuse investigation.

Telegram states that so far they have never disclosed user messages to third parties, including governments, but that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate their rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.

• See Telegram's answer to the FAQ "Do you process data requests?".

Telegram runs a bot that will tell you how many requests for data they have received and how many users have been affected in the country where your account is registered, but data from 80 countries have been gathered in a Github repository and shown in a web page on Telegram's transparency data based on contribution from people all around the world. This data set shows that starting in 2024 Telegram has been collaborating with governments and law enforcement more than before Durov's detention in France.

Create a new account

Consider registering with an alternative phone number

• Find out how to get a different phone number than the one you normally use.
• Also consider keeping your phone number private

Protect your account

Set up two-step verification

• Learn how to enable two-step verification.
• When you enable two-step verification, make sure to set up a recovery email address so you can recover your account in case you ever forget your password.
  • Note that you will have to remember both the password and the recovery email address, so save them both securely (for example in your password manager).
  • Change your recovery email address immediately if you lose access to it.
  • Make sure to also secure your recovery email, as an adversary may hack into it to get access to your account.

Use Telegram more safely

This section contains recommendations on how to use Telegram more safely. Also make sure to read our guide on how to use messaging apps more securely.

Consider denying the app permission to access your contacts

• Consider denying the app permission to access your contacts – go to Settings > Privacy and Security and uncheck Sync Contacts.
  • If you had already synced your contacts, you can delete them by clicking Delete Synced Contacts after you have unchecked the Sync Contacts option.
• Consider only connecting to people you know and whom you trust not to misuse the information you share.
  • Learn how to add new selected contacts.
• If you need to connect to an online community of like-minded individuals whom you have never met, consider carefully what information you will share with these people.

Add new selected Contacts

• To add a new selected contact, you can use their username or their phone number.
  • To add a new contact using their username, tap the search icon (or just click the search bar in the desktop app), enter an @ followed by the username in the search bar and select their profile to start a chat and add them to your contacts.
  • To add a new contact using a phone number, in the phone app tap the pencil icon in the bottom right corner, select New Contact, enter their name and phone number and tap Create Contact. In the desktop app, click the left menu, select Contacts and click Add Contact, then enter their name and phone number and click Create.

Consider denying the app other permissions

• Consider denying the Telegram app permission to access your device's location, camera, microphone, storage (photos and videos) and phone (to make calls).
  • Note that if you do so, you may be unable to use some functionalities like sharing photos, videos or your location, making phone calls or sending voice messages through Telegram.
  • Learn how to check your apps permissions on Android.
  • Learn how to check your apps permissions on iOS.

Keep your phone number private

• To make sure your phone number is not visible in your profile, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Phone Number and set Who can see my number? to Nobody.
  • Note that people who have your number saved in their phone contacts will still see your phone number, regardless of your settings, since they already know it.
  • You can add exceptions to this rule to make your number visible to selected people you trust. To add an exception, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Phone Number > Add exceptions, tap Always Allow, select a contact you want to share your number with and tap the blue check icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Connect with others without sharing your phone number

1. First choose a username: go to Settings and set a username in your Account section.
   • Learn more on Telegram usernames.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Phone Number and set Who can find me by my number? to My Contacts. This will stop people who don't have your number saved in their phone contacts from finding you by your phone number and will make sure that only people you've given your username to can connect with you on Telegram.

Securely link more devices

• You can use your Telegram account on multiple phones, computers and tablets at the same time by logging in with your phone number. All your chats and cloud data will instantly sync across all devices, allowing you to use them simultaneously.
• To link your account to a computer, you'll need to install Telegram Desktop or Telegram for macOS and then use the Telegram app on your mobile phone to scan a QR code displayed on the login screen of the desktop app.
• Secure your account on each app by setting up two-step verification and using a local passcode on every linked app to protect your account from unauthorized access.

Back up your data

• To back up your conversations, media and other data in your local device, you'll need to install the Telegram Desktop app in a computer.
• Once you've installed the Telegram Desktop app, go to Settings > Advanced > Export Telegram data, select what you would like to export and in which format and click Export.
• At the end of the download process, take a thorough look at what data it provides. Assess what has been downloaded, in what format and how you can read and use it.
  • Learn more on the Telegram export tool.

Know how to delete your Telegram account

• Before you delete your account, back up and delete your chats from your and other people's devices.
• To delete your Telegram account, open a browser and go to https://my.telegram.org/delete. Enter the phone number you've registered your Telegram account with and click "Next", then enter the confirmation code you've received in the Telegram app, click "Sign in" and finally click "Delete My Account". (Note that this decision is irreversible.)
  • Note that you can also set your account to get deleted if it isn't active for a certain period of time (ranging between 1 and 24 months). To set your account to be deleted after a certain period of inactivity, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Delete my account and set the lenght of the inactivity period next to If away for.
• After you've deleted your account also remove the app from your devices. This will make sure that messages are really deleted and won't stay forever in your devices.

Precautions when using a public or shared device

• Avoid logging in to your Telegram account from shared devices (like a computer in a public library or other people's devices).
• If you linked your Telegram account to a shared device, log out of the linked device as soon as you can, using your own device.

Secure your Telegram communications

Remember that Telegram doesn't use end-to-end encryption by default

It's important to note that Telegram doesn't protect the privacy of your chats through end-to-end encryption by default and that for group communications end-to-end encryption is never possible. This means that the Telegram company has full access to the content of all default and group chats.

• Learn how to start a secret chat to encrypt your conversation with one of your contacts.
  • Once you have started a secret chat, all the messages and calls you exchange through that secret chat will be protected through end-to-end encryption and the Telegram company will no longer have access to its content.
  • Note that secret chats cannot be backed up – if you lose your device, you won't be able to recover any of your secret chats.
  • It's also worth noting that secret chats are device-specific. This means that you can only access messages in a secret chat from their device of origin.
  • Read more on secret chats in the Telegram FAQ.
• If you need to secure group communications, consider using a secure messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption for group chats and restricting your usage of Telegram groups to public broadcasting of non-sensitive information.

Verify your contacts' identities in secret chats

• When you start a secret chat, try to always verify your contacts' identities by exchanging your encryption keys through a second safer channel, for example face to face, or through an encrypted email.
  • To compare encryption keys with your contact, open the secret chat with them, tap their user icon and then tap Encryption Key. You will see a picture that visualizes the encryption key for your chat and a series of numbers and letters under the picture. Compare the image or the sequence of numbers and letters with your contact and make sure they match.
• Read more on encryption keys in the Telegram FAQ.

Disable link previews

• Learn how to disable link previews in standard 1:1 conversations and in group chats.
• Disable link previews in secret chats by going to Settings > Privacy and Security > Secret Chats and unchecking Link Previews.

Set messages to automatically disappear or delete your chat history regularly

• Set messages in all conversations or in specific ones to disappear after a certain amount of time, especially if you are sharing sensitive information through Telegram.
  • Consider how long you want messages to be visible before they expire. You can set messages to disappear after a period of time ranging between 1 day and 1 month or after a custom time.
  • You can set all messages to disappear after a certain amount of time by going to Settings > Privacy and Security and tapping Auto-Delete Messages.
  • You can set specific conversations to disappear after a certain amount of time by opening the chat, tapping your contact's icon and then the three-dots menu icon and Auto-Delete. A menu will open where you can choose after how long the messages in this conversation will self-destruct. Note that messages sent before you enable this feature will not disappear.
• Disappearing messages do not guarantee that your messages will never be found! Someone could take a screenshot of the messages or take a photo of the screen using another camera.
  • If you want to limit the risk of your content being saved through a screenshot, use secret chats or consider having your photos disappear after your recipient has viewed them once.
• If you haven't set automatic deletion for all your conversations, it's a good idea to regularly delete your chat history manually.
  • To remove a specific chat, long-press it in the list of chats to select it and then click the trash bin icon in the top-right corner. Check the "Also delete for" box to delete it both in your and your contacts' devices.
  • To delete a specific message, long-press it to select it and then click the trash bin icon in the top-right corner. Check the "Also delete for" box to delete it both in your and your contacts' devices.

Lock your app with a passcode

• Lock your Telegram app with a passcode.
  • Use a password rather than a PIN.
  • To be sure your app is locked when you're not using your phone, it's a good idea to enable auto-lock after a specific period of inactivity.

Protect your IP address on Telegram calls

• Disable peer-to-peer calls by going to Settings > Privacy and Security > Calls > Peer-to-Peer and setting Use peer-to-peer with to Nobody.
  • If you activate this feature, you might find the call quality is reduced.
  • You can add exceptions for people you trust in Settings > Privacy and Security > Calls > Peer-to-Peer > Add exceptions.
  • Note that this feature only protects your IP address during calls, not for other Telegram activities like messaging or file sharing – by using a VPN or Tor, you can get a better protection against attempts at revealing your identity for everything you do online.

Only let your contacts call you

• Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Calls and set Who can call me? to My Contacts.

Be wary of Telegram bots

Telegram bots developed by third parties are not verified by Telegram and may contain vulnerabilities. Besides, bot developers may have malicious intent, like for example launching phishing attacks. Be wary when interacting with bots and don't add them to your contacts.

Decide what information to share

• Go to Settings > Privacy and Security and perform the following actions:
  • check who can see your details, like your phone number, Last Seen & Online, Profile Photos, Birthday and Bio;
  • tap on Forwarded Messages and make sure that nobody can add a link to your account when forwarding your messages;

Consider what information you should avoid sharing

Information that should never be shared with others online, even in chats with single individuals, may be, for example:

• Passwords
• Personally identifying information, including:
  • your birthday,
  • government or other ID numbers,
  • medical records,
  • education and employment history (these can be used by untrustworthy people who want to gain your confidence.)
• Information that may lead to understand where you live, for example a picture of your house.

Information that you might not want to share with others, depending on your assessment of the threats you are facing, is, for example, details about family members, information on your sexual orientation or activities and your email address (at least consider having more and less sensitive email accounts).

• Even if you trust the people in your networks, remember it is easy for someone to copy your information and spread it more widely than you want it to be.
• Agree with your network on what you do and do not want shared, for safety reasons.
• Think about what you may be revealing about your friends that they may not want other people to know; be sensitive about this, and ask them to be sensitive regarding what they reveal on you.

Share photos and videos more safely

• Consider what is visible in photos you share. Never share images that include:
  • your vehicle license plates,
  • IDs, credit cards or financial information,
  • photographs of keys (it is possible to duplicate a key from a photo.)
• Think hard before you share pictures that include or make it possible to identify:
  • your friends, colleagues and loved ones (ask permission before posting),
  • your home, your office or other locations where you often spend time,
  • if you are hiding your location, other identifiable locations in the background (buildings, trees, natural landscape features, etc.).
• Consider having your photos disappear after your recipient has viewed them once.
• Stop Telegram from automatically saving media to your device: go to Settings > Data and Storage and
  1. uncheck all options in the Automatic media download section;
  2. uncheck all options in the Save to Gallery section.
• If you're sending files, for example a PDF or a compressed folder containing media, first remove metadata from the file, images or videos.

Think about group and channel membership and who you connect with

• By default, Telegram allows anyone to add you to a group. To change this setting, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Invites and select Nobody or My contacts in the Who can add me? section.
• Blocking a group isn't possible, but you can leave the group and report it if it's violating Telegram's terms of service.

Protect your groups

This section includes recommendations on how to secure your Telegram groups. Also read our tips on using group chats more safely in the guide on messaging apps.

Invite only people you know and trust

• Learn how to send invite links to people you want to invite to join a group.
  • Remember to control who is connected to your group chat and don't share the invite link publicly.
• To have a more fine-grained control on who joins your private group, you can enable the Request Admin Approval option when creating an invite link: go to the group settings, tap Add Members > Invite to Group via Link > Manage Invite Links > Create a New Link and toggle on the Request Admin Approval option. Finally tap the Create Link button to obtain a link that requires an admin to approve membership requests by anyone who clicks your link.

Select a few trusted admins

• To add an admin to your group, go to the list of your group members, long-tap the member of the group you would like to add to your group admins and tap Promote to admin.

Assign some privileges only to admins

• To decide what an admin can or cannot do in your group, go to the list of your group members, long-tap the admin for whom you'd like to change permissions and tap Edit admin rights.
  • Learn more on admin permissions.
  • Make sure only trusted admins can edit the group or channel info, so unauthorized members cannot change the group's name, description and picture. In groups, you need to edit your group settings: tap the group icon and then the pencil icon in the top right corner, then tap Permissions and uncheck Change Chat Info to stop group members from editing your group info. Once this option is disabled, you can grant selected admins the right to edit your group info by editing their admin rights.

Decide who can write to the group

• Decide who can write to the group: if the main goal of your group is to share updates with many people, it is a good idea to create a channel instead of a group, so only selected people can send messages.
  • You can also restrict messages to admins only in a group. To do so, you need to edit your group settings: tap the group icon and then the pencil icon in the top right corner, then tap Permissions and uncheck Send Text Messages. Once this option is disabled, only admins can send messages to the group.
  • You can also limit just media sending, to stop group members from filling your group with images and videos. You will find this option in the group permissions, where you can also select the type of media that can or cannot be sent to the group.
• If you decide to let everybody write to the group, create a pinned message with your community's guidelines, clearly outlining acceptable behavior and consequences for violating them.
• If a message violates community standards, admins can delete it by long-pressing it, tapping the trash bin icon and selecting the Delete for Everyone option.
• If a member is violating your community guidelines, you can remove them from the group by finding the user in the members list, long-pressing their name and selecting Remove from group.

Improve the group's privacy

• Make your group or channel private, so people can only join if they are added or receive an invite link.
• Set messages in your groups, or at least in the most sensitive ones, to disappear after a certain amount of time: go to the group settings, tap the three-dots icon, then tap Auto-Delete and select the time period after which group messages should be automatically deleted.
• Restrict saving content to stop members from copying, saving or forwarding content that has been posted to the group. To do so, you need to edit your group settings: tap the group icon and then the pencil icon in the top right corner, then tap Group Type and enable Restrict saving content.

Check suspicious access

Check active sessions and authorized devices

• View devices where your account is logged in, and log out of any you do not recognize: go to your Telegram settings, tap Devices and check what devices are listed in this screen. If you don't recognize a session, you can select it and then tap Terminate Session. You can also terminate all other sessions (besides the phone you're using as your main device) and set a time period after which old sessions will be automatically terminated.
  • Note that if you are using a VPN or Tor Browser, which can conceal your location, your own devices may appear as connecting from unexpected locations.
• Telegram automatically sends a code if another device tries to log in to your account. Ignore this message if it wasn't you trying to link a new device, and check the Devices section in your settings to make sure the login attempt wasn't successful.
  • By enabling two-step verification you'll make it even harder for malicious actors to log in to your account.

If you think your account has been hacked or if your device is lost or stolen

If you lost access to your Telegram account and this happened less than 24 hours before, you can contact technical support by tapping Settings > Ask a question. Telegram will prevent new devices from terminating active sessions and disconnecting already existing devices only within the first 24 hours. Unfortunately Telegram's technical support is managed by volunteers, so their response could take longer than 24 hours.

If more than 24 hours have passed since you lost access to your account, or if you have lost your device or it has been stolen, you can try registering again with your phone number and your two-step verification code.

If this also doesn't work, go to the Telegram support web page and fill out the form describing what's happened and entering your name, email address and phone number.

If you can't recover your account, consider creating a new account with the same phone number. Note however that by doing so you'll lose your chat history and admin rights in your groups and channels.

If you don't have access to the old phone number, it's important to warn your contacts so they don't respond to any scam messages they may receive from your old account.

Handle abuse

This section explains how to ask Telegram for assistance in situations of abuse, harassment, attacks and impersonation. If you are a human rights defender, journalist or activist at risk and Telegram is not assisting you effectively, you can reach out to Access Now Digital Security Helpline or Front Line Defenders to request assistance. Also see the Digital First Aid Kit support page to look for help desks that may support you for specific needs.

Report abuse

You can report abuse on individual messages, groups or channels through the Report option.

To report a message on Android, tap the message and select Report from the drop-down menu. On iOS, press and hold the message. On Telegram Desktop, Web or Telegram for macOS, right-click the message and select Report. Then choose an appropriate reason.

To report groups or channels, open their profile and select Report from the menu. Users cannot be reported, but you can block them.

You can also use Telegram's email address to report abuses: write to abuse@telegram.org, including links (like t.me/... or @...) to the accounts, groups or channels and screenshots of the content which you think needs attention from moderators.

If a scammer is pretending to be you, contact @NoToScam.

Unfortunately, Telegram doesn't respond consistently to users' requests related to online harassement or account takeovers, so in most cases blocking harassers should be your first resort in cases of abuse.

Protect yourself from scams and suspicious messages

If you receive an unsolicited message, think twice before you respond. Don't open links or attachments from unknown or suspicious sources until you have verified through a different and secure channel that the person you've received the message from is who they say they are and have actually sent you that message.

Do not accept new contacts, or invitations to groups or channels, until you have verified their authenticity by reaching out through different and secure channels to the person who contacted or invited you.

Learn how to recover your account if it is disabled or suspended

• If your account has been reported and suspended and you are sure that this suspension is wrongful, you can contact @SpamBot on Telegram.
• Learn more on how Telegram handles accounts suspected of spreading spam.

Take a break from your account

If you need to take a break from your account, consider deleting the Telegram app from your phone if you will still have access to the same phone number when you want to reconnect. You can also just let people know you will be away by putting a note in your status message and silencing the app notifications through your phone settings.

In such case you could consider setting up an autoresponder through an app like AutoResponder for TG (for Android) or an online service like autoresponder.ai, or by creating your own bot (for example based on the Telegram Autoresponder Bot).