How to Delete Your Telegram Account
Export your Telegram chats, hand your groups and channels to a new owner, then delete your account on Telegram's deactivation page or in the iPhone app.
You will end up with your chats exported, your groups and channels handed to a new owner, and your Telegram account deleted. The iPhone app has a Delete Account Now option. The Android and desktop apps only offer the inactivity timer, so on those you delete the account through Telegram's deactivation page in a browser.
Telegram says deleting your account cannot be undone, and there is no 30-day grace period like the ones TikTok and Instagram give you. Your messages and contacts are deleted, while the groups and channels you created stay behind without an owner.
We checked these steps against Telegram's FAQ, its deactivation page, and the text of Telegram's iOS, Android, and Desktop apps in September 2026.
Export your chat history and media
Once your account is gone, there is no way to retrieve any of your conversations or files, because Telegram keeps your chats in its cloud and deleting the account deletes them. Export only works in Telegram Desktop, so if you only use Telegram on your phone, install Telegram Desktop and log in first. Open Telegram Desktop (the app for Windows, macOS, and Linux). Go to Settings, click Advanced, then click Export Telegram data. You can choose what to include: personal chats, group chats, channels, media files, voice messages, and more. Pick what matters to you and choose a location on your computer. Click Export and wait for it to finish.
Heads up: Include your Saved Messages in the export. Telegram's iPhone app warns that deleting your account means losing access to all your Saved Messages, as well as all messages, media, and files from your chats.
Transfer ownership of groups and channels
If you created any groups or channels, you are the only owner. When you delete your account, Telegram's FAQ says those groups and channels are "orphaned and left without a creator but admins retain their rights". So moderation does not stop, provided you already have admins in place. What ends is the owner role itself. Nobody can be promoted to owner afterward, and the powers that only an owner holds go with your account. Telegram only allows the transfer if two-step verification was turned on more than 7 days ago and you logged in on the device you are using more than 24 hours ago. If you try sooner, the app stops you with a Security Check window that lists both conditions. If you have not set up two-step verification yet, go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Two-Step Verification and set it up now, at least 7 days before you plan to delete. Open each group or channel you own, tap the group name at the top, then tap Edit. Go to Administrators. If the person you want to take over is not an admin yet, tap Add Admin and choose them. Then tap their name and tap Transfer Group Ownership (Transfer Channel Ownership in a channel), and enter your two-step verification password when Telegram asks for it.
Good to know: If you are not sure which groups or channels you own, open each one you run and check its admin list. Any one that shows "Owner" next to your name is one you need to transfer before deleting.
Open Telegram's deactivation page
Telegram does not let you delete your account from within the Android or desktop app. You need to use a specific web page. Open a browser and go to my.telegram.org/deactivate. This is Telegram's official account deactivation portal. Use a desktop browser if you have one, because Telegram's FAQ recommends a non-mobile browser for this process. The page will load on a phone, but that is the setup Telegram itself steers you away from.
Enter your phone number and get the verification code
Type your phone number in full international format. That means including the country code with a plus sign at the beginning. For example, a US number would look like +1 555 123 4567. Click Next. Telegram will send a verification code, but not via SMS. The code arrives as a message inside the Telegram app from the Telegram service account. Open Telegram on any device where you are still logged in, find the code, and enter it on the web page.
Heads up: You must still be logged into Telegram on at least one device to receive the code. If you have already logged out everywhere or uninstalled the app, log back in first. You cannot complete the deletion without the in-app verification code.
Confirm the deletion
After entering the code, Telegram shows a final confirmation screen. It explains that deleting your account will remove your messages and contacts, and that this action cannot be undone. Before you click, make sure the export from step 1 has finished and your groups are transferred (step 2). If there are messages you want gone from other people's chats too, delete them for both sides first, because Telegram's app says that will not be possible once the account is deleted. Fill in the optional Why are you leaving? box or leave it blank. Click Delete My Account, then click Yes, delete my account in the confirmation dialog.
Heads up: There is no waiting period. The account is deleted as soon as you confirm, and Telegram's FAQ calls the termination of an account irreversible.
Delete from the iOS app instead
If you use an iPhone or iPad, Telegram also offers an in-app deletion option. Apple requires apps to provide this under its App Store guidelines. Open Telegram on your iPhone. Go to Settings, then Privacy and Security. Tap If Away For, then tap Delete Account Now. Work through the screens that list what you will lose, enter your phone number, and enter your two-step verification password if you set one. Then tap Delete My Account to confirm. The result is the same as the web method, and it cannot be undone.
Good to know: If you would rather not delete immediately, Telegram has a built-in self-destruct timer. Go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then "If Away For" and choose a shorter period. Telegram's own default is 18 months of inactivity, and this setting is how you bring that forward. If you do not log in during the period you pick, the account deletes itself.
If the code in step 4 never arrives, check that you are still logged in on another device, because Telegram sends it only inside the app, never by SMS. If the ownership transfer in step 2 is refused, wait until two-step verification has been on for 7 days and try again from a device you have used for more than a day. If you are not ready to delete for good, set the If Away For timer from step 6 to a short period instead. If you come back later with the same phone number, you start as a new user, and FAQ 7 below covers who gets notified. If you are cleaning house across several platforms, we have the same walkthrough for TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and Cash App.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
No. Removing the app from your phone only removes the app itself. Your account, messages, groups, and all your cloud data stay on Telegram's servers until the inactivity timer deletes the account, which by default happens after 18 months without coming online. To actually delete your account, you need to go through the deactivation page at my.telegram.org/deactivate or use the iOS in-app option.
No. Telegram's FAQ calls the termination of an account irreversible. Telegram does run a support service, which you reach in the app under Settings, then Ask a question, and which its FAQ says is staffed by volunteers. Contacting it will not bring a deleted account back.
Your chat partners keep their copies of the messages you sent them, as Telegram's FAQ says, and your name shows as "Deleted Account". In group chats, your messages stay in the history under the same "Deleted Account" label. You cannot retroactively delete your messages from other people's conversations after your account is gone.
No. Only the iOS app has a built-in deletion option (required by Apple's App Store guidelines). If you use Android, Windows, macOS, or Linux, you must use the web deactivation page at my.telegram.org/deactivate. It opens in any browser, though Telegram recommends a desktop one, as step 3 explains.
Telegram's FAQ does not say whether a deleted account's username is held or released, so do not count on getting it back. If the username matters to you, keep the account and set the If Away For timer from step 6 instead of deleting it.
Only if you are still logged into Telegram somewhere. Telegram sends the verification code inside the app, not via SMS. If you have lost your SIM card but are still logged into Telegram on any device, you can still receive the code and complete the deletion. If you are logged out everywhere and cannot receive messages on your old number, the inactivity timer is your only remaining route. Telegram deletes accounts that have not come online for at least 18 months by default, so treat it as a long wait rather than a workaround.
Yes, and none of your old data carries over. Telegram's FAQ is blunt about it: "If you sign up again, you will appear as a new user and will not get your history, contacts or groups back." Telegram also says people who have your phone number in their contacts will be notified, and your new account turns up as a separate, empty conversation in their message list. So coming back is visible to everyone who still has your number saved.
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