Telegram Backup Options Compared

TGBackup: our recommended dedicated backup tool

TGBackup is built for the gap Telegram leaves open: rebuilding your network on a new account. According to its privacy policy (opens in a new tab), it saves your profile name, username and bio; your contacts’ names, usernames, bios and the date you last contacted each; the usernames of people you chat with who aren’t contacts; the groups and channels you’re in; your folders; existing invite links for private groups you administer; and the names of admins of private groups it can’t rejoin by link.

How it connects

You link it like a new Telegram Desktop session. Its policy says it signs out when the job ends, which you can confirm under Settings › Devices, and that a 2-step password you enter goes to Telegram and isn’t stored.

What a restore does

Per its terms (opens in a new tab): re-adds contacts by username, rejoins public groups and channels, and recreates folders in the new account. Private chats need an invite or an admin, and it shows you who to ask.

Where data is kept

Its policy says backups sit in a database encrypted at rest that its servers can read, not encrypted with a key only you hold. It offers a password-locked download (opens in a new tab) in an open format, so you aren’t locked in.

Limits to know

It never reads or stores messages, photos, videos or files, and doesn’t save phone numbers, so contacts without a username can’t be restored. Its terms say restores depend on what Telegram allows, that rate limits can make large restores take hours, and that it can’t promise every contact or chat comes back.

It’s designed for before something goes wrong. It can’t recover an account that has already been taken, restore messages, or bring back Secret Chats. If you want your message history too, pair it with a Telegram Desktop export.

What are the built-in Telegram backup options?

Cloud sync

Ordinary chats, groups, channels and contacts are stored on Telegram’s servers and appear on every device you sign in on. It’s automatic and free, and it covers lost or broken phones completely. It doesn’t cover Secret Chats, deletions (which sync everywhere), or the account itself being deleted or reset.

Telegram Desktop export

The official export tool saves chats, media and account data to your computer as HTML or JSON. It’s the right choice for an offline, readable record. It doesn’t include Secret Chats, isn’t encrypted, and can’t be imported back into Telegram. Full steps: exporting Telegram chat history.

Data request

Telegram’s FAQ (opens in a new tab) says you can use the @EURegulation bot to request a copy of the data Telegram stores about you. It’s a record of what Telegram holds, not a tool for rebuilding anything.

Is a manual record good enough?

For a small network, it can be. A short note listing key contacts by username, your private groups with an admin for each, and invite links for groups you run covers the essentials. It costs nothing and needs no sign-in. Its weakness is that it’s only as current as the last time you updated it, and it gets unwieldy past a few dozen chats.

What about other third-party tools?

Other Telegram backup and export tools exist, including open-source exporters. We only cover tools we’ve reviewed against our editorial policy, so they aren’t listed here. The checklist below works for evaluating any of them.

How do I evaluate a Telegram backup tool?

1. What exactly does it store? Look for a specific list of what’s kept and what isn’t, not just “your data.”
2. How does it connect? Any tool that reads your contacts and chats is logged in to your account. Find out how long that session lasts.
3. Does it sign out, and can you check? The session should end when the job finishes and disappear from Settings › Devices.
4. Does it ask for things it shouldn’t? A legitimate tool never needs you to send a login code or 2-step password through chat, email or a form outside Telegram’s own sign-in flow.
5. Where is the data kept, and who can read it? Is it encrypted at rest? Can the provider read it? Can you delete it yourself?
6. What does restore really do? It should explain what Telegram does and doesn’t allow, such as private groups and rate limits, rather than promising everything comes back.
7. Can you leave with your data? An export in an open format means you aren’t locked in.

Which Telegram backup option should I choose?