How to Clear Telegram Cache and Free Up Storage

To clear Telegram's cache, open Telegram's own storage settings (in the data and storage section on mobile, or the advanced section on Desktop) and use the option to clear cached media. Your messages, photos and files stay in Telegram's cloud and download again when you open them, so clearing the cache is safe for normal chats. The exceptions are secret chats and files whose original messages no longer exist, and this guide explains how to avoid losing those.

What the Telegram cache actually is

Telegram is a cloud service. Ordinary chats, groups and channels are stored on Telegram's servers, not on your phone. When you scroll through a chat, the app downloads photos, videos, voice messages, stickers and files so it can show them. It keeps copies on your device so that scrolling back does not download everything again. Those copies are the cache.

Because Telegram encourages large media and big channels, the cache grows quickly. A few busy channels that post videos can fill several gigabytes without you ever saving anything on purpose.

The key point is that the cache is a copy. The original still sits on Telegram's servers as long as the message exists. Delete the copy, and Telegram simply fetches it again the next time you open that message.

What clearing the cache does not delete

• Your messages. Text messages are part of your cloud chats. Clearing media does not remove them.
• Media in cloud chats. Photos and videos come back when you tap them, as long as the message still exists and you still have access to the chat.
• Saved Messages. These are cloud messages too, so their media can be downloaded again.
• Files you saved yourself. Anything you exported to your gallery, camera roll or downloads folder is a separate copy outside the cache.
• Your account, contacts and settings. None of these live in the cache.

What you can lose

Some cached files are the only copy left. Think about these before you clear everything:

• Secret chat media. Secret chats are end-to-end encrypted and tied to the devices involved. Their contents are not stored in Telegram's cloud in a form you can download again. If a photo from a secret chat is removed from your device, you may not be able to get it back. Our guide to Telegram secret chats explains why.
• Files from deleted messages. If the sender deleted a message after you downloaded its file, the server copy is gone. Your cached copy may be the last one.
• Files from chats you can no longer open. If you left a private channel, were removed from a group, or the channel was deleted, Telegram cannot give you the file again.
• Media that has expired. Some media is designed to disappear after viewing or after a timer, and was never meant to be kept.

If any file in one of those situations matters to you, save it to your device storage before clearing the cache.

Before you start

A short checklist prevents the only real way this goes wrong.

1. Know your login details. Clearing the cache does not log you out. But some of the stronger fixes later in this guide, such as clearing app data, do. Make sure you can receive your login code and know your two-step verification password. If you have not set one, our guide on setting up two-step verification takes a few minutes.
2. Save anything irreplaceable. Secret chat photos, files from deleted messages and anything from a chat you are about to leave.
3. Check your connection. After clearing, media reloads as you scroll. On a slow or metered connection, that can be annoying or costly.
4. Note the current size. Look at the cache total in Telegram's storage screen, so you can tell whether clearing worked.

Reading the storage screen

Telegram's storage screen is more useful once you know what each category holds and which ones are worth clearing.

• Photos. Images from every chat you have scrolled through. Usually moderate in size, and the most likely to include things you want to keep.
• Videos. Clips and video files, including ones that played automatically as you scrolled. Normally the biggest category by far.
• Files or documents. PDFs, archives, apps and other files you opened. A handful of large files can outweigh thousands of photos.
• Music. Audio files shared as music, common in channels that post songs or podcasts.
• Voice and video messages. Recorded voice notes and round video messages. Individually small, but a busy group can build up a lot.
• Stickers and emoji. Sticker sets and animated emoji. Small, and reloaded almost immediately, so clearing them gains little.
• Other or miscellaneous. Temporary data, thumbnails and things that fit no other category.

Two habits make the screen more useful. First, sort your attention by size, not by category name: the largest line is where clearing pays off. Second, compare the chat list with the categories. If one chat is large and the largest category is videos, that chat is almost certainly posting video.

How to clear Telegram cache on Android

Telegram's storage screen on Android shows how much space is used and what kind of content it is.

1. Open Telegram and tap the menu, then Settings.
2. Open the data and storage section.
3. Open the storage usage screen. Telegram calculates how much space it is using; this can take a moment.
4. Look at the breakdown. Newer versions show categories such as photos, videos, files, music, voice messages and stickers, and may list the chats using the most space.
5. Select what you want to remove. To clear everything that can be downloaded again, keep all categories selected.
6. Tap the button to clear the cache and confirm.

The size drops once Telegram finishes. If your phone's own storage screen still shows a large figure for Telegram, see the section on storage that clearing the cache misses, further down.

The local database option on Android

The Android storage screen may also offer to clear the local database. That is different from the cache. The database holds the text of chats you have loaded, so the app can show them quickly. Clearing it removes the local copy, and Telegram reloads chats from the cloud. It is usually safe for cloud chats and is useful when the database has grown very large. Read the warning Telegram shows before you confirm, because the exact effect can change between versions.

How to clear Telegram cache on iPhone

On iPhone the steps are similar, although the labels may differ slightly.

1. Open Telegram and tap Settings in the bottom bar.
2. Open the data and storage section.
3. Open storage usage and wait for Telegram to calculate the totals.
4. Review the categories and, in newer versions, the list of chats using the most space.
5. Choose what to clear and confirm.

Why the iPhone storage screen may not drop at once

iOS reports app sizes on its own schedule. After you clear Telegram's cache, the figure in the iPhone's general storage settings can take a while to update. Check Telegram's own storage screen instead; it is calculated live.

Offloading versus deleting the app

iOS offers to offload an app, which removes the app but keeps its documents and data. That does not shrink Telegram's cache, so it does not help here.

Deleting the app does remove the cache, along with everything else stored locally. Your cloud chats come back when you log in again, but secret chats on that device are lost. Use Telegram's own clear cache option instead.

How to clear Telegram cache on Desktop

Telegram Desktop for Windows, macOS and Linux keeps its own cache, separate from your phone.

1. Open Telegram Desktop and open Settings from the menu.
2. Open the advanced section.
3. Find the option to manage local storage.
4. Review the totals for each type of content.
5. Use the option to clear all, or clear specific types if the screen offers that.

Downloaded files on Desktop are separate

When you open or save a document, video or other file on Desktop, it is often written to a download folder on your computer, commonly a Telegram folder inside your Downloads. Those files are not part of the cache. Clearing the cache will not remove them, and they can quietly take up a lot of space. Check that folder with your computer's file manager and delete what you do not need.

The desktop app also lets you choose where downloads go, in its settings. If your main drive is small, pointing downloads to a larger drive helps.

How to clear Telegram cache in a web browser

Telegram's web versions store far less locally than the apps, because the browser handles most caching. There is usually no large cache to clear inside Telegram itself.

If the browser is slow or Telegram Web behaves oddly, you can clear the site data for Telegram in your browser's settings. Be aware that this also removes the login for that browser, so you will need to sign in again. Keep your phone nearby to confirm the login, and have your two-step verification password ready.

For how the different versions compare, see Telegram Desktop vs Web vs Mobile.

Clearing selectively instead of everything

Clearing everything works, but it means reloading media in the chats you use most. Clearing selectively keeps the useful parts.

Clear by type of content

Most storage screens let you untick categories. Common choices:

• Keep stickers and voice messages. They are small and you will load them constantly anyway.
• Clear videos first. They are almost always the largest category.
• Clear files if you have opened many documents in channels and do not need them on this device.

Clear by chat

Newer versions list the chats using the most storage. That list is often revealing: one meme channel or one group with constant video can account for most of the space.

1. Open the storage usage screen and find the list of chats.
2. Tap the largest chat.
3. Review what it holds and clear it.
4. Repeat for the next largest until you are happy with the total.

Example. Suppose the storage screen shows a total of 6 GB, and one football channel accounts for 4 GB of it, mostly videos. Clearing just that channel frees most of the space, while your family chats keep their photos ready to view. These figures are illustrative; your own breakdown will differ.

Stop the cache from filling up again

Clearing the cache is a one-off fix. Settings decide whether it fills straight back up.

Set how long media is kept

Telegram's storage screen lets you choose how long downloaded media is kept on the device. Newer versions let you set this separately for private chats, groups and channels. After that period, unused media is removed automatically and downloads again if you open it.

1. Open the storage usage screen.
2. Find the setting for how long to keep media.
3. Choose a shorter period for channels and groups, where most of the bulk comes from.
4. Keep a longer period for private chats if you often scroll back through family photos.

Set a maximum cache size

You can also cap the total size of the cache. When the cache reaches the cap, Telegram removes the oldest media first.

1. Open the storage usage screen.
2. Find the maximum cache size setting.
3. Choose a size that leaves room on your device for other apps.

A cap is the most reliable single setting, because it keeps working however much media your channels post.

Change automatic downloads

Automatic media download is the main reason the cache grows. Telegram downloads photos, and sometimes videos and files, as soon as they appear on screen. You can change this in the data and storage section.

1. Open the automatic media download settings.
2. Review the settings for mobile data, Wi-Fi and roaming separately.
3. For each connection type, choose which kinds of media download automatically and for which types of chat.
4. Turn off automatic video and file downloads in channels and groups if you mostly read text.
5. Lower the maximum size for automatic video downloads where that option is shown.

Media you have not downloaded still shows as a preview. You tap it to load it.

Autoplay and streaming

Autoplaying videos and GIFs load data as you scroll. Turning off autoplay in the data and storage section means fewer videos are cached. Telegram can also stream many videos while they play, which still uses the cache temporarily but avoids keeping files you only watched once if your keep-media setting is short.

Storage that clearing the cache does not touch

Sometimes you clear the cache and your phone still says Telegram is huge. The space is somewhere else.

Copies saved to your gallery or camera roll

Telegram can save incoming photos and videos to your gallery automatically. Those copies belong to your phone's photo library, not to Telegram's cache. They survive a cache clear.

1. In the data and storage section, find the option to save incoming media to your gallery or photos.
2. Turn it off, or limit it to private chats.
3. Clean up existing copies in your gallery app. On Android, they are often in a Telegram album or folder.

Downloads folders

On Android and Desktop, files you opened or saved may sit in a Telegram folder in your device storage. Use your file manager to check it.

The local database

As described above, the text of loaded chats lives in a local database, which can grow large if you are in many busy groups. On Android, Telegram's storage screen may offer to clear it.

How the system counts app size

Your phone's storage screen may include temporary data, the app itself and system overhead in Telegram's total. These can differ from Telegram's own figure. Trust Telegram's storage screen for the cache, and the system screen for the overall picture.

Storage used versus data used

People often mix up two different screens in the data and storage section.

• Storage usage is how much space Telegram takes on your device right now. Clearing the cache lowers it.
• Network or data usage is how much mobile data and Wi-Fi Telegram has used over time. Clearing the cache does not lower it, and can raise it, because media you open again has to download again.

If your problem is a mobile data bill rather than a full phone, the fix is the automatic download and autoplay settings, not clearing the cache. On a limited data plan, clearing the cache and then scrolling through media-heavy channels on mobile data is the worst combination.

Clearing the cache to fix glitches

The cache is also a common culprit when the app misbehaves in small ways. A cached file can be incomplete if a download was interrupted, and the app may keep showing the broken copy.

Signs that cached data may be the problem:

• One photo or video shows as a grey block or fails to open, while others load fine.
• A sticker set displays incorrectly or not at all.
• A channel's posts look out of date on one device but fine on another.
• The app has become slow to open a particular chat with a lot of media.

How to try a fix:

1. Open the affected chat's entry in the storage screen, if your version lists chats, and clear just that chat.
2. If there is no per-chat list, clear the category involved, for example stickers or videos.
3. Close Telegram fully and reopen it.
4. Open the chat again and let the media reload.

If clearing does not help, the problem is probably not the cache. Update the app, check your connection, and see whether the same media opens on another device. If it fails everywhere, the file itself may be unavailable, for example because the message was deleted.

Media you send, and channel admins

People who post a lot, such as channel admins, build up cache from their own uploads too. When you send a photo or video, Telegram may keep a local copy alongside the original in your gallery.

That copy is safe to clear. Once sent, the media lives in the cloud as part of the message, so Telegram can download it again. Your original file on your phone or computer is not part of Telegram's cache and is not touched.

Admins who prepare posts on a computer and schedule them should keep the original files in their own folders, not rely on Telegram as the archive. If a post is deleted from the channel, its media goes with it, and the cached copy will eventually be removed too.

If your phone has a memory card

Some Android phones accept a memory card. Telegram for Android may offer a choice of storage location in the data and storage section when a card is present, which lets the cache live on the card instead of the phone's internal storage.

This frees internal space without clearing anything. Two cautions: memory cards are often slower, so media may load a little more slowly, and removing the card makes the cached files unavailable until you put it back. Because the cache is only a copy, nothing permanent is lost either way.

When normal clearing is not enough

If Telegram is badly out of control, you can use the operating system to wipe its local data completely. This is a last resort, because it logs you out.

Clearing app data on Android

The Android system settings for each app offer to clear the app's cache and to clear its storage or data. Clearing the system cache is fairly harmless. Clearing storage or data resets Telegram completely on that device.

What you lose when you clear app data:

• Your login on that device.
• All secret chats on that device.
• All cached media and the local database.
• Local settings, such as chat themes and notification tweaks.

What you keep: every cloud chat, contact and setting stored in your account.

1. Save anything you need from secret chats.
2. Confirm you can receive a login code and know your two-step verification password.
3. Open Android Settings, then Apps, then Telegram, then Storage.
4. Clear data or storage, and confirm.
5. Open Telegram and log in again.

Reinstalling on iPhone

On iPhone, the equivalent is deleting the app and installing it again. The same losses apply: secret chats on that device and the login. Only do this after the steps in the checklist.

Worked examples

These are illustrative scenarios to show how the pieces fit together.

Example: a phone that is always full

Maria's phone warns about storage every week. Telegram's storage screen shows most of the space is videos from three channels. She clears videos from those channels, sets media in channels to be kept for a short period, and turns off automatic video downloads in channels on mobile data. The cache stays small from then on, and she taps the videos she actually wants to watch.

Example: the cache is small but Telegram is still huge

Tom clears his cache and Telegram's own screen shows a small figure, but his phone still lists Telegram as one of the largest apps. He finds that Telegram has been saving every photo from his groups into his gallery. He turns that off and deletes the Telegram album in his gallery app, which frees the space.

Example: a photo that did not come back

Ana clears everything, then finds a photo a friend sent in a secret chat no longer loads. Secret chat media is not in the cloud for her to download again. The only fix is to ask her friend to send it again, which is why the checklist says to save secret chat media first.

Which option fits your situation

Match what you are trying to achieve to the gentlest option that does it.

• "My phone is nearly full and I need space today." Clear videos and files from Telegram's storage screen, starting with the largest chats.
• "Telegram keeps growing back." Set a maximum cache size and a short keep-media period for channels and groups.
• "I am using too much mobile data." Change automatic downloads and autoplay for mobile data. Clearing the cache will not help.
• "Telegram's figure is small but the phone says it is huge." Look at gallery copies, download folders and the local database.
• "One photo or sticker is broken." Clear just that chat or category, then reopen the app.
• "Nothing else has worked and the app is unusable." Clear app data or reinstall, after saving secret chats and confirming your login details.

Working down this list, rather than jumping to the strongest option, keeps you from losing secret chats or logins for a problem a smaller step would have solved.

Common mistakes

• Clearing app data instead of the cache. This logs you out and deletes secret chats. Use Telegram's own storage screen first.
• Forgetting the gallery copies. Photos saved to your gallery are not cache, and clearing the cache will not touch them.
• Clearing without a cap. Without a maximum size or a keep-media period, the cache fills up again within days.
• Ignoring the largest chats. One busy channel often accounts for most of the space. Clearing selectively is gentler and just as effective.
• Deleting Telegram's download folder blindly. On Desktop, it may hold documents you saved on purpose. Look before you delete.
• Uninstalling to save space. You lose secret chats and your login for no benefit over the in-app option.

What to do next

Once storage is under control, it is worth tidying the chats themselves. Leaving channels you no longer read cuts future downloads at the source, and archiving or muting the rest keeps your chat list readable. Our guide on pinning, muting and archiving chats and our guide to Telegram folders both help.

If you are looking for better channels to replace the noisy ones, browse by topic in our categories or see the best Telegram channels, ranked by real subscriber counts.

FAQ

Will clearing Telegram cache delete my messages?

No. Clearing the cache removes downloaded copies of media and files. Your messages and the originals of media in cloud chats stay on Telegram's servers and reload when you open them.

Will I lose photos after clearing the cache?

Not in normal chats, as long as the messages still exist. Photos in secret chats, from deleted messages, or from chats you can no longer access may not come back. Save those first.

Does clearing the cache log me out?

No. Clearing the cache from Telegram's settings keeps you logged in. Clearing the app's data from Android's system settings, or deleting the app, does log you out.

Why is Telegram still using space after I cleared the cache?

Usually because of photos saved to your gallery, files in download folders, or the local database. Check each of those, as described in the section on storage that clearing the cache misses.

How often should I clear the cache?

With a maximum cache size and a keep-media period set, you rarely need to clear it by hand. Telegram removes old media automatically.

Do I need to clear the cache on every device separately?

Yes. Each device keeps its own cache. Clearing it on your phone does not affect Telegram Desktop on your computer, and the other way round.

Summary

Telegram's cache is a set of local copies of media from cloud chats, so clearing it from Telegram's storage settings is safe and keeps you logged in. Save secret chat media and files from deleted messages first, because those cannot be downloaded again. Set a keep-media period and a maximum cache size so the cache stays small, and reduce automatic downloads. If your phone still shows Telegram as large, check gallery copies, download folders and the local database. Clearing app data or reinstalling is a last resort that logs you out and deletes secret chats.