Telegram tool guide: conversation modes, accounts and privacy

In Telegram, a cloud chat is not end-to-end encrypted. For confidentiality of that same text you need a Secret Chat. Turn on the cloud password (Two-Step Verification), limit who can see your number, and review active sessions. The app name alone does not mean every conversation is confidential. Groups, channels, bots and Saved Messages stay in the cloud of that same account.

If the first decision is which channel to use at all, start with choosing private channels. Install Telegram only from telegram.org or the official store, not from a “Plus” build or a file shared in a group.

A cloud chat and a Secret Chat are not the same

Ordinary one-to-one chats, groups and channels sync through Telegram’s servers so they open on several devices. That is convenient for everyday work and is not enough for text that should not sit with the service. A Secret Chat is end-to-end between two devices, does not sync to your other devices, and has its own lock and timer.

1. To start a Secret Chat, open the contact’s profile and choose Start Secret Chat.
2. An existing cloud chat does not become secret by itself; you have to start a separate one.
3. Set the self-destruct timer at the start if you do not want a lasting history on the device.
4. Tap the lock or the header of that chat and compare the key image with the other person.
5. If they reply from a tablet or a computer, they may have opened the cloud chat rather than the secret one. Look for the lock in the header.
6. Putting the word “secret” in a group name does not make the group end-to-end. Channels and groups are not Secret Chats.

Telegram states that one-to-one calls are end-to-end. Do not treat a group call or a channel livestream as a Secret Chat. In a Secret Chat, some devices notify the other person about a screenshot; that is not the same on every operating system, and a second device can still record the screen.

Cloud password and local lock

1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security.
2. Turn on Two-Step Verification (the cloud password) and choose a password different from the phone unlock code.
3. Add a recovery email if the app asks for one, and protect that inbox as well.
4. Store this password in a password manager or on paper. Forgetting it makes signing in on a new device hard or impossible.
5. Turn on the local Passcode separately so the app asks for it when you come back. That lock does not remove cloud chats from the server.
6. Do not send a login SMS code to anyone who claims in a chat to be Telegram support.

Sessions and devices

1. Open Settings and then Devices, or the list of active sessions.
2. Read each session for time, device type and, if shown, region.
3. End a session you do not recognize. If the doubt is serious, terminate every other session and change the cloud password if it may have leaked.
4. Do not leave Telegram Web or Desktop signed in on a shared computer.
5. Take a notice about a new session seriously.
6. Look in the same list for an unofficial client connected with your number through the API, and disconnect it if you did not set it up.

Phone number, last seen and being found

1. In Privacy and Security, open Phone Number: who can see the number and who can find you by it.
2. Limit Last Seen & Online, Profile Photos, About and Date of Birth to contacts or to nobody, as needed.
3. Set who can add you to groups and channels.
4. If there is a setting for messages from strangers, match it to what you actually need.
5. Under Forwards, see whether other people can link back to your account when they forward a message.
6. A username, if you have one, is a way to be reached without publishing the number; do not put it in a public group unless you must.

People Nearby and location options

Features that show people around you share location with others. Leave them off for sensitive work.

1. Turn off People Nearby if your version has it, and do not appear there.
2. Share live location only with someone who needs to reach you at that moment, then turn it off.
3. Do not send a home location in a large group.

Groups, channels and bots

1. A public group or channel with a username can be searched. Do not put private coordination there.
2. Reset or revoke an invite link after the people you wanted have joined.
3. Limit member permissions in the group info: who can add members, send messages or change the info.
4. A bot in a private chat can see the messages for its operator. In a group, a bot that is a member or an admin may read messages. Do not make an unknown bot an admin.
5. Do not treat a one-way channel as a private chat; admins see the content, and deleting later does not recall copies people already saved.

Auto-delete, Saved Messages and export

1. You can set Auto-Delete Messages in Privacy and Security for cloud chats. That removes text from the server after a set time, but it does not make the chat end-to-end and it does not stop screenshots.
2. Saved Messages are in the cloud of the same account; do not treat them as a separate vault.
3. Exporting from Telegram usually creates a readable file that no longer lives only inside the app. Keep that file like any other sensitive document.
4. Delete for everyone does not recall a forwarded or saved copy.

Media and the gallery

1. In Settings > Data and Storage, limit automatic downloads.
2. Turn off automatic Save to Gallery for sensitive chats.
3. A file that lands in the gallery also appears in photo backups and in other apps that can read photos.
4. Link previews go through Telegram’s servers; keep that in mind for a sensitive link.

App lock and notifications

1. Keep the phone’s screen lock on.
2. Limit notification text previews.
3. If Telegram’s local lock is on, set a short auto-lock time.
4. Lock the desktop when you stand up.

If Telegram itself will not open on this network

1. In Data and Storage, open the Proxy section.
2. Do not enter an unknown proxy that is passed around in chats; its operator can see your network address and when you connect.
3. If an organization you trust issues a proxy, take it from their trusted channel, not from an advert under the same setting.
4. Do not install a modified build that promises “unblocked access”.

Delete or leave the account

1. In Privacy and Security, see whether the account will be deleted if you stay inactive, and set that window on purpose.
2. Before you give up a number, end sessions, and make sure you already have the cloud password if you will no longer control the number.
3. Deleting the account does not erase messages other people already saved or forwarded.

Common mistakes

• Assuming “Telegram is encrypted” about groups and cloud chats.
• Putting sensitive notes in Saved Messages as if that were a safe box.
• Leaving the cloud password off, so someone who receives the SMS can register the number again.
• Installing Telegram Plus from a channel.
• Turning on an advertised proxy.
• Making an unknown bot an admin in a work group.
• Leaving Telegram Web open on a shared computer.
• Assuming a paid subscription adds a new encryption layer on cloud chats.

A paid subscription may change appearance, upload size or some display settings. It does not make a cloud chat end-to-end and it does not replace the cloud password, session review or Secret Chats. Treat voice messages, video and files like text: they stay with the service in a cloud chat, and they stay on that device in a Secret Chat. If only part of a message is sensitive, do not send that part in a cloud chat and delete it later; choose the secret path from the start.

A Secret Chat is not on every device

A Secret Chat is tied to the device where you started it. Telegram Web usually does not show it, and many desktop builds do not sync that same chat. If the text must stay confidential, write it on the phone in a Secret Chat, not in the cloud chat that also opens on the computer.

1. You cannot forward from a Secret Chat the way you forward a cloud message; that limit is deliberate, but a screenshot is still possible.
2. If you lose the phone that held the Secret Chat, that history usually goes with it unless the other person still has it.
3. Starting a Secret Chat again with the same person creates a new conversation, not a continuation of the old one.

Calls and peer-to-peer

1. In Privacy and Security, open Calls.
2. See who is allowed to call you.
3. If you do not want the other party to see your network address, set peer-to-peer to Contacts or Nobody so the call goes through the service.
4. Do not put a group call on speaker in a shared room.

Do not scan a stranger’s desktop login code

1. Open Desktop and Web from desktop.telegram.org or telegram.org, not from a short link in a message.
2. Scan the login QR code only on the page you yourself opened.
3. A code that arrives in a chat saying “scan this to verify” can create an attacker’s session.
4. After you finish on a shared computer, end that session under Devices and sign out on the computer itself.

Delete synced contacts

1. If you allowed access to the address book at setup, Telegram uploads the list to help find people you know.
2. In Privacy and Security look for Delete Synced Contacts and run it if you do not want that link to remain.
3. Turn off frequent-contact suggestions if that option is there.
4. You can later revoke contacts permission in the system settings as well.

Changing the number and forgetting the cloud password

1. Change the number from the account settings while you still control the old number.
2. If you forget the cloud password, use the official path with the recovery email. If you never added an email, signing in on a new device may stay blocked.
3. Put the recovery email in an inbox you control, not a work address that may close tomorrow.
4. Do not confuse the cloud password with the app’s local lock; each one does a different job.

Official installs and modified builds

1. Android: the official store or the file listed at telegram.org/android.
2. iPhone: the Apple store.
3. Computer: desktop.telegram.org.
4. Do not install builds named Plus, Gold or cracked Premium; they often read your session and files.
5. Update through the same official path.

Bots, mini apps and admin rights

1. Every message you send to a bot can be read by its operator.
2. A mini app or in-app program can ask for data; treat that permission like installing a new app.
3. Do not make a bot an admin in a work group unless you know its source and whether it can read history.
4. If a bot became an admin without your decision, remove that access the same day.

Storage, search and clearing cache

1. In-app global search finds cloud chats. An unlocked phone means that search is unlocked too.
2. Clearing the media cache does not delete cloud messages from the server; it only reduces the local copy of files.
3. To remove something from the cloud you must delete the message itself, and copies may still remain with other people and in exports.

A cloud chat does not disappear when you lose the phone

Unlike an app that does not keep readable text on the server, a Telegram cloud chat comes back when you sign in on a new device. That convenience is also why a stolen session or a re-registration of the number is dangerous: the history comes with it. A Secret Chat does not behave that way and usually leaves with that device.

1. Turn on the cloud password for exactly this risk, so an SMS code alone is not enough.
2. Review sessions regularly, not only after an incident.
3. If the phone is lost, end every session from another device, suspend the number with the operator if you can, and change the cloud password.
4. After you sign in on a new device, disconnect the lost phone’s session separately.

Restrict saving and forwarding in a group

1. Some groups and channels let you restrict saving and forwarding for members.
2. That does not stop a screenshot or a photo of the screen.
3. Admins still have access to the content.
4. Do not treat a public channel link plus this restriction as confidentiality.

Privacy exceptions

1. In each section such as Last Seen or Profile Photos, look at the Always and Never lists.
2. Add someone who should not see your online status to the Never list.
3. Review those exceptions once after your circle of contacts changes.
4. If your version has Stories or a status feature, set its audience separately from one-to-one chats.

Time the local lock

1. In Privacy and Security, open Passcode Lock and set a short auto-lock time.
2. Unlocking with a fingerprint or face is convenient; if you hand the device to someone, that lock should ask again.
3. Turn on a local lock on desktop as well if it exists.
4. If “delete my account if away” is on and travel or detention may last longer than that window, match the period to reality so the account is not wiped at the wrong time—or set it short on purpose.

Scheduled messages and drafts

1. A scheduled message stays in the cloud until its time arrives; do not treat it as a local-only draft.
2. A draft in a cloud chat may appear on other devices of the same account.
3. Do not leave sensitive material sitting in a draft of a large cloud chat.

Blocking and reporting

1. You can block someone from their profile or from the chat.
2. Blocking does not remove a copy they already received.
3. Report spam and requests for login codes, and do not continue the exchange.
4. If someone writes under a familiar name from a new number, confirm through another channel before you send a file.

Give invite links an expiry

1. In the group or channel, open invite links and create a new one with an expiry and a use limit instead of a permanent link.
2. Revoke that link after the members you wanted have joined.
3. Do not post the link in another public channel if the group should stay limited.
4. Turn on join requests so people do not enter unchecked.
5. Review the admin list: what rights each admin has, and whether they can add members or delete messages.
6. Do not add an admin you do not know, and review bot access separately.

A channel username is a public archive

A channel or group with a public username is, in practice, an indexable archive. Deleting a post does not stop copies that were already saved. If something should not be public, write it in a private space from the start instead of hoping to erase it later.

Several accounts on one device

Telegram lets you keep more than one account in the same app. That makes switching easy, but the same device and the same system backup hold both accounts in one place. If identities should stay separate, several accounts on one phone are not separation by themselves. The fuller framework is in separating online identities.

Keep notification text off the lock screen

1. In Notifications and Sounds, turn off name and text previews so the lock screen does not show the content.
2. Add a separate exception or mute sensitive chats.
3. If a watch or a computer also shows notifications, check those too.

Official proxies and a stranger’s proxy

1. If you need a proxy, open Data and Storage and then Proxy.
2. An MTProto proxy that a stranger sends can see your network address and when you connect.
3. Do not confuse a proxy with a Secret Chat; a proxy is a path to the service, not encryption of a cloud chat.
4. If you no longer need it, turn the proxy off so every session does not pass through a third party.

Fake sites and t.me links

1. Start sign-in from telegram.org, not from a page that looks official in a search result.
2. A t.me link can take you to a bot, a channel or a login page; check the destination before you tap.
3. Treat a page that asks you to send a login code “for verification” in a chat as hostile, and do not send the code.

Review shared media

1. In each chat, open the media, files and links tabs and see what is still there.
2. Delete a file that should no longer sit in the cloud; copies may still remain with other people.
3. Keep automatic Save to Gallery off for work chats.

Compare the Secret Chat key

1. Inside the Secret Chat, open the lock image or the encryption section so you can see the image and the key string.
2. Compare that image or a few digits through a separate path—ideally in person or on a voice call where you already know the other person.
3. If the keys do not match, end the chat and start again from that person’s own profile, not from a link that appeared in a public chat.
4. Set the disappearing-message timer to match how sensitive the material is; a short timer does not stop a screenshot.

What Telegram does not hide

Even with careful settings, the service can still see which account signed in from which network address and, in a cloud chat, who is talking to whom. A Secret Chat hides the text more thoroughly from the service, but it does not erase the existence of the account, connection times or the device list. If the goal is to hide your identity from the service itself, this app is not the right tool; the limits are explained in limits of anonymity in communication.

No in-app setting can fully pull a number, a public username or a public channel post back off the internet after publication. Return to choosing private channels when you need to pick the right path.

Exporting a chat

1. If you need a local archive, use the official export path for only the conversation you need, not the whole account without review.
2. The export file is not an encrypted cloud vault; store it like any other sensitive file.
3. Do not leave the export on a shared computer or in a public sync folder.
4. Delete the temporary copy after you move it.

What to do today

1. Open an important conversation and see whether it is a cloud chat or a Secret Chat; if the text must stay confidential, start a separate Secret Chat and compare the key.
2. Finish the cloud password and recovery email, and store the password in a password manager outside the app.
3. Read active sessions and end anything unknown or any unofficial client.
4. Limit who can see your number, find you by number and add you to groups.
5. Limit peer-to-peer calls so your network address does not reach the other party so easily.
6. Turn off People Nearby and turn off Save to Gallery for sensitive chats.
7. Set notification previews and the local lock, with a short auto-lock time.
8. Revoke old group invite links and remove unofficial builds of the app.
9. Turn off an unknown proxy if you do not still need it.
10. Review shared media in work chats once and delete extra files from the cloud.