How to Back Up Telegram: Every Method, Step by Step

What does “backing up Telegram” actually mean?

With most messengers, a backup is a file you restore onto a new phone. Telegram works differently. Ordinary chats, groups and channels are cloud chats: they live on Telegram’s servers and sync to every device you sign in on. Lose your phone, sign in on a new one, and they come back without you doing anything.

That leaves three things a “backup” might mean, and they need different tools:

A copy you control

An offline archive of messages and media on your own disk, independent of Telegram’s servers. Made with the Telegram Desktop export tool.

Continued access to the account

Making sure you can always sign back in: a phone number you control, a two-step verification password, and a recovery email. No file can stand in for this.

A record of your network

Who you talk to, which groups and channels you belong to, and who administers the private ones. This is what you need if you ever have to start again on a different account.

Things that can’t be backed up

Secret Chats exist only on the device that started them. They are not in the cloud and are not part of any export.

What does Telegram already keep for you?

Telegram’s FAQ (opens in a new tab) describes cloud chats as its built-in backup: messages and media are stored encrypted on its servers so they are “immediately accessible from any of your devices – even if you lose your device altogether.” This covers one-to-one chats, groups, channels, Saved Messages and your contact list.

Two important limits apply. First, the cloud copy belongs to the account. If the account is deleted, whether by you, by inactivity, or by someone who took it over, Telegram says the data is removed and cannot be recovered. Second, the cloud only helps if you can still sign in.

How do I make an offline copy of my Telegram data?

The official way is the export tool in Telegram Desktop, the app for Windows, macOS and Linux. Telegram introduced it in 2018 (announcement (opens in a new tab)). It saves chats and media to a folder on your computer as readable HTML pages, machine-readable JSON, or both.

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   Step 1: Install Telegram Desktop and sign in

   Download it from desktop.telegram.org (opens in a new tab) and sign in with your existing account. The full export is a Telegram Desktop feature.

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   Step 2: Open the export tool

   Go to Settings › Advanced › Export Telegram data. To export one conversation instead, open it, click the ⋮ menu and choose Export chat history.

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   Step 3: Choose what to include

   Tick account information, contacts, personal chats, bot chats, private and public groups and channels, and the media types you want. Large media libraries can take hours and a lot of disk space, so use the size limit if needed.

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   Step 4: Pick a format and location

   HTML opens in any browser and is best for reading. JSON is for search tools and scripts. Choosing both costs little extra space.

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   Step 5: Confirm the request if asked

   Telegram may ask you to confirm the export from another device, and may make you wait before it starts, especially on a device you only just signed in on. This protects you from someone downloading your history from a stolen session.

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   Step 6: Store the archive securely

   The export folder is not encrypted. Anyone who opens it can read everything in it. Keep it on an encrypted drive, or in an encrypted container, and keep a second copy somewhere else.

For a full walkthrough of every option and what each format looks like, see how to export Telegram chat history.

Which backup method covers what?

How do I back up my contacts and groups?

The export includes your contact list and every chat you choose. What it doesn’t give you is a way to get back into private groups from a different account. Rejoining a private group needs an invite link or an admin who adds you, and those are much easier to collect while you still have access.

• For each private group or channel that matters, note its name and at least one admin you could ask to re-add you.
• If you administer a private group, save its invite link somewhere safe. Anyone with the link can join, so treat it like a password.
• Check which of your important contacts have usernames. People with a username can be found again without a phone number.
• Save your own username. If your account is ever lost, people searching for you need to know which account is really you.

Why is protecting access part of backing up?

Most Telegram data loss is really account loss: a stolen phone number, a phished login code, or a session nobody noticed. If you keep control of the account, the cloud does the rest. Before you rely on any file:

1. Turn on Two-Step Verification (Settings › Privacy and Security) and add a recovery email that is itself protected.
2. Check Settings › Devices and end any session you don’t recognise.
3. Make sure the phone number on the account is one you control and expect to keep.
4. Consider a passkey, which Telegram supports as a login method that doesn’t rely on SMS.

The full checklist is in our Telegram account security guide.

Do I need a dedicated Telegram backup tool?

Not for an offline copy of your messages. Telegram Desktop does that for free. A dedicated tool is worth it when it does something the export can’t, such as helping you rebuild your contacts and groups on a new account.

That’s what TGBackup, the tool we recommend, is built for. It saves your contacts by username, the chats you’re in, your folders and the admins of private groups, then re-adds and rejoins them on a new account within Telegram’s limits. Like any tool of this kind, it signs in to your account while it works; it signs out afterwards, which you can confirm under Settings › Devices. Our comparison of Telegram backup options covers the details and a checklist for evaluating any tool.