How to Export Telegram Chat History

To export Telegram chat history, use Telegram Desktop on a Windows, macOS or Linux computer. Open the chat, click the three-dot menu and choose "Export chat history", then pick what to include and a format: HTML for reading in a browser, or JSON for software. To export your whole account at once, use the data export option in Telegram Desktop's advanced settings.

This guide explains both kinds of export step by step, what each option means, what cannot be exported, what to do on a phone, how to read the files you get, and how to keep them safe.

Before you start

A few minutes of preparation prevents most export problems.

• Install Telegram Desktop. Exports are made in Telegram Desktop, the official app for Windows, macOS and Linux, downloaded from Telegram's website or your computer's app store. The phone apps do not offer a full chat export. Some other official versions, such as Telegram Web or the separate native macOS app, may not include the same export tool, so use Telegram Desktop if you cannot find it.
• Log in on the computer. You will need your phone, or another logged-in device, to receive the login code. If you use two-step verification, have your password ready.
• Check free disk space. Media can make an export very large. A chat with years of videos can take a lot of space. Text alone is small.
• Plan the time. A text-only export of a normal chat takes moments. A full account export with all media can take a long time.
• Know why you are exporting. A personal backup, a record for a dispute, moving to another tool and data analysis each suggest different settings. The sections below explain which.
• Ask before exporting shared chats for others. If you plan to show a group's history to someone outside it, consider telling the members or at least the admins. It is their conversation too.

What can and cannot be exported

What you can export

• Private chats with people.
• Groups you are a member of.
• Channels you follow or run, as long as they do not restrict saving content.
• Chats with bots.
• Your own account information, contacts and other account data, through the full account export.

What you cannot export

• Secret chats. They are end-to-end encrypted and live only on the two devices where they were created. Telegram Desktop does not have them, so it cannot export them. See Telegram secret chats explained.
• Chats with protected content. Channels and groups can turn on a setting that stops members saving or forwarding content. The export option is blocked or limited for these. More in restricting saving content.
• Messages that were already deleted. An export captures what exists at the time. Messages removed by hand or by an auto-delete timer are not recoverable.
• Calls. Voice and video calls are not recorded, so there is nothing to export apart from the record that a call took place.

Export a single chat

This is what most people need: one conversation, one group or one channel.

1. Open Telegram Desktop and select the chat in the left-hand list.
2. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the chat.
3. Choose "Export chat history".
4. In the window that opens, choose what to include (explained below).
5. Choose the format: HTML, JSON, or both if your version offers it.
6. Check the download path, and change it if you want the export somewhere else.
7. Optionally set a date range with the "From" and "To" fields.
8. Click Export.
9. Wait for the progress bar to finish, then click to open the folder.

If you do not see "Export chat history" in the menu, update Telegram Desktop. If it is still missing, the chat may have protected content.

Choosing what to include

The export window lists types of content. Text is always included. You can tick or untick:

• Photos.
• Videos.
• Voice messages.
• Video messages (the round ones).
• Stickers.
• GIFs.
• Files.

There is usually also a size limit for files and videos. Anything above the limit is left out and noted in the export as not downloaded. Raising the limit captures more, at the cost of space and time.

Which choices for which purpose

• A record of what was said, for example in a dispute: text, photos and files, with the size limit high enough for any documents that matter. Skip stickers and GIFs.
• A personal memory archive of a friend or family chat: photos, videos, voice messages and video messages. These are what you will miss most.
• Data analysis: text only, in JSON. Media adds bulk without helping analysis.
• A full backup before leaving Telegram: everything, with a high size limit, and enough disk space.

Choosing the date range

By default an export covers the whole history. If you only need a period, such as one month around an event, set the "From" and "To" dates. This saves time and space and keeps the export focused.

Export your whole account

For a backup of everything, or before deleting your account, use the full data export.

1. In Telegram Desktop, open Settings.
2. Go to Advanced.
3. Choose "Export Telegram data".
4. Tick the kinds of data you want (explained below).
5. Choose the media types and size limit.
6. Choose the format and download path.
7. Click Export.

What the full export can include

The window groups your data into sections. Typical options include:

• Account information: your name, username, phone number, bio and profile pictures.
• Contacts list: the contacts saved in your Telegram account.
• Personal chats: one-to-one conversations.
• Bot chats.
• Private groups, with an option to include only your own messages.
• Private channels.
• Public groups and public channels, where typically only your own messages are offered, because the rest is public anyway.
• Active sessions and other miscellaneous data, such as some settings.

The exact list changes as Telegram adds features. Read each option in your version before exporting.

Security confirmation

Because a full export is a copy of your private life, Telegram protects it. When you start one, Telegram may ask you to confirm the request from another device where you are already logged in, usually through a message from Telegram in your chat list. In some cases Telegram also makes you wait before the export can start.

This is a safety feature. If someone else ever gets into your account on a new device, they cannot instantly download all your chats. If you receive an export request that you did not start, deny it and check your active sessions straight away. Our guide on recovering a hacked Telegram account explains what to do next.

HTML or JSON: which format to choose

HTML

HTML produces web pages you open in any browser. Messages look roughly like a chat, with names, times, replies and media shown in place. Large chats are split across several pages.

Choose HTML when a person will read the export: yourself, a family member, or someone you need to show a conversation to.

JSON

JSON produces a structured data file. Each message is an entry with fields such as its id, date, sender and text. Formatting, links and mentions are stored as separate pieces of the text, so a program can rebuild them.

Choose JSON when software will read the export: analysing a group's activity, importing messages into another tool, or searching with your own scripts.

Both

If you are not sure, export both if your version allows it, or run the export twice. The text part is small, so the second export costs little.

Finding your way around the export

The folder structure

A typical HTML export contains:

• One or more message pages, starting with a file such as messages.html.
• Folders for each media type you included, such as photos, video files, voice messages and files.
• Folders for styles and scripts that make the pages display correctly.

Keep the folder together. If you move only the message pages, the media links break.

A full account export adds an overview page linking to each section and a folder per chat.

Opening the export

1. Open the export folder.
2. Double-click the first message page, or the overview page for a full export.
3. It opens in your default browser.
4. Use your browser's find function to search within a page. For a long chat split across pages, search each page, or use JSON with a search tool.

Reading the JSON

Open the JSON file in a text editor to look at it, or in any tool that understands JSON. A few things are useful to know:

• Dates are stored in a standard format that most tools can convert.
• A message's text may be a plain string or a list of pieces when it contains formatting, links or mentions.
• Service events, such as someone joining a group, are included as their own type of entry.
• Media is referenced by a file path relative to the export folder.

What to do on a phone

The Telegram phone apps do not offer a full chat export. If you only have a phone, you have some partial options:

• Forward important messages to Saved Messages. They stay in your cloud and you can export them later from a computer.
• Save individual media to your phone's gallery or files from the message menu.
• Copy text of individual messages.
• Use a computer temporarily. Logging in to Telegram Desktop on a friend's or library computer works, but log out afterwards and remove the export files you do not take with you. Check the session is gone in your active sessions list.

Screenshots are a last resort. They capture appearance, but they are hard to search and do not prove much on their own.

Notes for Windows, macOS and Linux

Telegram Desktop works the same way on all three systems, but each has a quirk worth knowing.

Windows

Exports usually go to a Telegram Desktop folder inside your Downloads folder unless you choose another path. Very deep folder paths can cause trouble with some Windows tools, so a short path such as a folder directly on a drive is easier to work with. If your antivirus scans every file as it arrives, a media-heavy export will be slower; let it finish rather than pausing protection.

macOS

There are two official Telegram apps for Mac: Telegram Desktop and a separate native Mac app. They look different and their menus differ. If you cannot find the export option in the app you use, install Telegram Desktop from Telegram's website and export from there. When macOS asks whether Telegram may access your Downloads or Documents folder, allow it, or the export may fail to save.

Linux

If you installed Telegram Desktop as a sandboxed package, such as a Flatpak or Snap, it may only be allowed to write to certain folders. If an export fails to save or the folder appears empty, choose a path inside your home Downloads folder, or adjust the package's permissions. The version from Telegram's website does not have this restriction.

All systems

Keep the computer awake during long exports. Sleep mode pauses the download of media, and a long pause can make the export fail part-way.

Exporting a channel you run

Channel owners often export for backups or to move content to a website.

1. Open the channel in Telegram Desktop.
2. Use "Export chat history" from the three-dot menu.
3. Include photos, videos and files if you want a complete copy of your posts.
4. Choose JSON if you plan to republish posts elsewhere, because it is easier to convert.

If your channel restricts saving content, the export may be blocked even for you as the owner. Temporarily turning that setting off, exporting, and turning it back on is one approach; think about whether that suits your channel first. Read how to back up a Telegram channel for a full backup routine.

Exporting a group for moderation or records

Group admins sometimes need a record of what was said, for example when a dispute escalates or a member reports harassment.

1. Export the relevant date range only.
2. Include text, photos and files.
3. Choose HTML for people to read, and keep a JSON copy as well if the record might need detailed checking later.
4. Note when you made the export and who made it.

Remember that an export only contains what still exists. If moderators delete abusive messages, export first, then delete.

Keeping your export safe

An export is a full copy of private conversations, often including other people's messages, photos and phone numbers. Treat it with care.

• Store it somewhere private. A personal computer with a login, or an encrypted drive. Avoid shared computers and public cloud folders.
• Encrypt it if it is sensitive. Most operating systems offer encrypted folders or disk encryption. A password-protected archive is another option.
• Do not share it casually. Other people in the chat did not agree to their messages being passed on. Share only what is needed, and only with people who need it.
• Delete exports you no longer need. Old exports on a laptop are a common source of leaks.
• Check local rules. If you are exporting conversations to use as evidence or for work, the rules on privacy and records depend on where you are. This is general information, not legal advice.

What an export does not capture

An export is a snapshot of what Telegram shows, not a forensic record. Know its gaps before relying on it.

• Edit history. If a message was edited, the export holds the final version, usually marked as edited with a time. Earlier versions are not kept, because Telegram does not keep them visible either.
• Messages deleted before the export. Gone, whether deleted by a person or a timer.
• Live data. Things that change over time, such as view counts or reactions, reflect the moment of export at best and may not be included in detail.
• Context outside the chat. Linked posts in other channels, websites behind links and content in other chats are not pulled in.
• Proof of authenticity on its own. An export is a set of ordinary files that could be edited by anyone with access. For anything serious, keep the export unchanged, note when and how you made it, and ask a professional how evidence should be handled where you live.

Handling very large chats

Big groups and long-running channels can produce exports that are slow and hard to manage. Breaking the job up helps.

1. Export text first. Do a text-only export in JSON and HTML. It is quick and gives you the complete conversation even if the media part fails.
2. Export media in date ranges. Run separate exports for each year or each few months, with media included. Smaller exports are easier to check and to retry.
3. Name folders clearly. For example, the group name followed by the date range. Telegram Desktop may name export folders by date, which becomes confusing after several runs.
4. Check each export as you go. Open a page and a few media files before starting the next range.
5. Estimate space before you begin. Example only: if a group shares about ten short videos a day and each is a few megabytes, a year of videos alone runs into many gigabytes. Text for the same year would be tiny by comparison.

Using your export

Once you have the files, a few techniques make them more useful.

Searching across a long chat

HTML exports of long chats are split across several pages, so a browser's find function only searches one page at a time. For a whole-chat search, use the JSON file with a text editor or tool that can search large files, or use your computer's own file search on the export folder.

Printing or making a PDF

Open the HTML pages in a browser and use its print function. Most browsers offer "Save as PDF" as a printer. This is useful when someone needs a document rather than a folder. Print only the pages that matter.

Turning JSON into a spreadsheet

Many spreadsheet and data tools can import JSON. Once loaded, you can sort by date, filter by sender and count messages. Because formatted text can be stored in pieces, you may need to combine those pieces into one text column first.

Reading the export on a phone

Copy the whole export folder to your phone's storage or a cloud drive you trust, then open the first page in a file manager or browser that can open local HTML files. Results vary by phone; a computer remains the most reliable way to read an export.

A simple backup routine

If you want ongoing backups rather than a one-off export, a routine keeps them manageable.

1. Choose what to back up. Usually a handful of chats that matter: family, a channel you run, important work groups.
2. Pick a schedule. Monthly or quarterly works for most people.
3. Export only the new period each time, using the date range, so each export is small.
4. Store two copies, for example on your computer and on an external drive, so one failure does not lose everything.
5. Test now and then by opening an old export to make sure it still displays correctly.
6. Delete exports you no longer need, especially of chats with other people's private information.

Alternatives when you do not need a full export

Sometimes an export is more than you need. Telegram has built-in ways to keep things.

• Saved Messages. Forward anything you want to keep to Saved Messages. It is your private cloud space, available on all your devices.
• A private channel as a notebook. Some people create a private channel only they belong to and forward important posts there, organised by topic. See how to create a Telegram channel.
• Search inside Telegram. If you only need to find something once, Telegram's search may be enough; our guide on searching inside a Telegram channel shows filters for dates, media and senders.
• Saving single files. Save the one document or photo you need to your device from the message menu.

These options keep everything inside Telegram, so they do not protect against losing your account. For that, an export is still the right tool.

Moving chats into Telegram, and out of it

People who search for exports often want to move chats between apps.

• Into Telegram: Telegram supports importing chat history from some other messaging apps, usually through the other app's own export and share feature. The imported messages appear in a Telegram chat with their original dates noted.
• Out of Telegram: there is no direct transfer to another messenger. The export gives you files that you can keep, read or process yourself. Another app would have to support importing Telegram's export format for a direct move.

Worked examples

Example: saving a family group before leaving

Example only. Elena is about to delete an old phone number and her account with it. She wants to keep years of photos from a family group.

1. She installs Telegram Desktop and logs in.
2. She opens the family group and chooses "Export chat history".
3. She ticks photos, videos and voice messages, raises the size limit, and chooses HTML.
4. The export takes a while. She copies the folder to an external drive.
5. She opens the first page in a browser to check that photos display.

Only then does she continue with deleting her account. See what happens when you delete your Telegram account before taking that step.

Example: a record for a dispute

Example only. A freelancer has a disagreement with a client about what was agreed in a Telegram chat.

1. He exports the chat for the relevant month, with text and files, as HTML.
2. He keeps a JSON copy too.
3. He notes the date of the export.
4. He shares only the relevant pages with the person handling the dispute.

Example: analysing a community

Example only. A group admin wants to know which hours are busiest.

1. She exports the group in JSON, text only.
2. She loads the file into a spreadsheet tool that reads JSON and groups messages by hour.
3. She deletes the export afterwards, since it contains members' messages.

Troubleshooting

The export option is missing

Update Telegram Desktop. If it is still missing for one chat, the chat probably restricts saving content. If it is missing for every chat, you may be using a different Telegram app for desktop that lacks the feature; install Telegram Desktop from Telegram's website.

The export never starts

If you started a full account export, check your other devices for a confirmation request. If Telegram has told you to wait, the export starts after the waiting period.

The export stops part-way

Check free disk space and your connection. Large media downloads can fail on an unstable network. Lower the media size limit or untick videos and try again.

Media is missing from the export

Files above the size limit are skipped. Raise the limit and export again. Media that was deleted from the chat cannot be exported.

Pages show broken images

The media folders were separated from the message pages, or the export was opened from inside a compressed archive. Extract the archive fully and keep the folder structure intact.

Common mistakes

• Expecting secret chats in the export. They live only on the devices where they were created.
• Exporting on a shared computer and leaving the files. Delete them and log out.
• Moving only the HTML pages. The media folders must stay alongside them.
• Deleting messages before exporting. Export first if you need a record.
• Ignoring the size limit. Important documents above it are silently skipped, with only a note in the export.
• Approving an export request you did not start. It may be someone trying to copy your account. Deny it and check sessions.

FAQ

Can I export Telegram chats on Android or iPhone?

Not fully. The phone apps do not offer a chat export. Use Telegram Desktop on a computer, or save individual messages and media from your phone.

How long does an export take?

It depends on how many messages and how much media are included. Text only is fast; years of videos can take a long time.

Will the other person know I exported our chat?

Telegram does not notify other chat members when you export a chat.

Can I export a chat that restricts saving content?

Usually not. The protection blocks the export option for members. Owners of a channel or group can change the setting.

Can I import my Telegram export back into Telegram?

Telegram's import feature is designed for chats from some other messengers, not for re-importing its own export. Keep your export as an archive.

Does exporting delete anything from Telegram?

No. Exporting only makes a copy. Your chats stay exactly as they were.

Summary

Use Telegram Desktop to export: "Export chat history" in a chat's three-dot menu for one conversation, or "Export Telegram data" in Advanced settings for your whole account. Choose the media to include, a size limit, a date range, and HTML for reading or JSON for software. Secret chats, protected chats and already deleted messages cannot be exported. Confirm full exports only if you started them, keep the folder structure intact, and store exports privately, since they hold other people's messages too.