How to Log Out of Telegram on All Devices (Active Sessions)

To log out of Telegram everywhere, open Settings on a device you trust, go to Devices (called Active Sessions in some versions) and choose Terminate All Other Sessions. Every other phone, computer and browser is signed out at once. Then, if you want, log out of the device in your hand from its own settings.

There is one important exception: a device that logged in very recently cannot end older sessions for about 24 hours. This guide explains that rule, how to read the devices list, how to log out on each platform, and what to do if you think someone else is in your account.

What a "session" is

Every time your account is signed in somewhere, Telegram creates a session. A session is one login on one app on one device. Examples:

• The Telegram app on your phone.
• Telegram Desktop on your laptop.
• A browser tab with Telegram Web, on any computer.
• A second phone or a tablet.
• A third-party Telegram app, if you ever signed in to one.

Each session can read your cloud chats, send messages as you and change most settings. That is why the devices list is one of the most important screens in Telegram: anything on it has access to your account.

Sessions are not the same as connected websites

When you use "Log in with Telegram" on a website, that website is not a full session. It is a separate authorisation that shares limited profile information and, if you agreed, lets the site's bot message you. Those are managed in a different place, covered later in this guide.

Before you start

1. Use a device you trust and have had for a while. If it logged in less than about a day ago, it may not be allowed to end older sessions yet.
2. Make sure you can log back in. Logging out of a device means you need your phone number and a login code to get back in on it, plus your two-step verification password if you set one. If your only phone is the one you are logging out of, check you still have that SIM or that number.
3. Know about secret chats. Secret chats live only on the device where they were started. Logging out of that device ends them permanently. Cloud chats are not affected.
4. Have your two-step password ready if you use one. You will need it to log back in anywhere.

How to read the Devices list

Open Settings, then Devices (or Privacy and Security, then Active Sessions, in some versions). You will see the current session at the top and every other session below.

Each entry shows some or all of:

• The device or browser, such as a phone model, a computer, or a browser name.
• The app and its version, such as Telegram Desktop, Telegram Web or the mobile app.
• An approximate location, worked out from the internet address the session last used.
• When it was last active.

How to judge whether a session is yours

• Location is a rough guide only. It comes from an internet address. A mobile network, a VPN or a work network can make your own device appear in another city or country.
• The device model is the strongest clue. A phone model or computer type you have never owned is a warning sign.
• Old browser sessions are common. A session called Telegram Web from months ago is often a computer at work, school or a friend's house where you forgot to log out.
• An unofficial app name is worth attention. If you see an app you do not recognise, and you never installed a third-party client, treat it as suspicious.

If you are unsure, end the session. The worst outcome is that you have to log in again on one of your own devices.

How to end one session

Use this when only one entry is unknown or no longer needed.

Ending a session on Android

1. Open the menu and tap Settings.
2. Tap Devices.
3. Tap the session you want to end.
4. Tap Terminate session and confirm.

Ending a session on iPhone

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Devices.
3. Tap the session, or swipe it to the left.
4. Tap Terminate and confirm.

Ending a session on Telegram Desktop

1. Open Settings.
2. Open Devices (sometimes reached through Privacy and Security, then Active Sessions).
3. Click the session and choose to terminate it.

Ending a session on Telegram Web

1. Open the menu and go to Settings.
2. Open Devices or Active Sessions.
3. Click the session and terminate it.

The ended device is signed out immediately if it is online, or as soon as it next connects.

How to end all other sessions at once

Use this if you lost a device, suspect someone else has access, or simply want a clean start.

1. Open Settings, then Devices, on the device you will keep.
2. Tap or click Terminate All Other Sessions.
3. Confirm.

Every session except the one you are using is signed out. On those devices, Telegram returns to the login screen, and their local copies of cloud chats and cached media are removed from the app.

This action does not delete anything from your account. Your cloud chats, contacts, groups and channels are all still there when you log back in.

How to log out of the device you are using

Ending other sessions never logs out the device in your hand. To do that, log out from its own settings.

Logging out on Android

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap the three-dot menu at the top.
3. Tap Log Out.
4. Telegram shows some alternatives, such as adding another account or setting a passcode. Read them, then confirm Log Out if you still want to.

Logging out on iPhone

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Edit in the corner.
3. Scroll down and tap Log Out.
4. Review the alternatives and confirm.

Logging out on Telegram Desktop

1. Open Settings.
2. Open the three-dot menu in the settings panel.
3. Choose Log out and confirm.

Logging out on Telegram Web

1. Open the main menu and go to Settings.
2. Open the menu in the settings panel.
3. Choose Log out and confirm.

Logging out of literally everything

To leave no session at all, first terminate all other sessions, then log out of the device you used to do it. After that, the next login on any device needs your phone number, a code and your two-step password if you have one.

The 24-hour rule for new devices

If you log in on a new device and try to end your older sessions, Telegram may refuse with a message about security reasons and ask you to wait.

Why the rule exists

Imagine someone steals your login code. If a brand-new session could end every other session, the attacker could log in and instantly kick you out of your own account. Telegram prevents that by not letting a fresh session terminate older ones for roughly the first day. The older devices, which are most likely yours, keep the power to end the new one.

What to do if it blocks you

1. Use an older device. If you still have your phone or computer that has been logged in for a while, end the sessions from there.
2. Wait it out. Once the new session is old enough, the option works.
3. Protect the account in the meantime. Set or change your two-step verification password from the new device so whoever is in the other session cannot log in again elsewhere. Our guide to two-step verification walks through it.

Automatic logout of inactive sessions

Telegram can end sessions that have not been used for a while on its own. In the Devices screen you will find a setting along the lines of Automatically terminate old sessions or If inactive for, with a choice of periods.

1. Open Settings, then Devices.
2. Find the automatic termination setting near the bottom.
3. Choose a shorter period if you often log in on borrowed or shared computers.

A shorter period means old logins clean themselves up. The cost is that a device you use rarely, such as a laptop you only open on holiday, may need a fresh login. If you go a very long time without using an account at all, Telegram's separate account self-destruct setting applies; that is about deleting the whole account, not individual sessions, so check it under Privacy and Security.

Login alerts: how you know a new session appeared

When a new device logs in, Telegram sends a service message from its official account to your other sessions, naming the device and the approximate location. Recent versions may also show a prompt in the app asking whether the new login was you, with an option to end it.

Treat these alerts seriously:

• If it was you, nothing needs to be done.
• If it was not you, end the session straight away from Devices, then follow the hacked-account steps below.
• If you received a login code you did not request, someone typed your number on a login screen. Do not share the code with anyone, however they ask. Telegram never asks you to send a login code to anyone. Our guide on never sharing your login code explains the scams built around this.

If you think someone else is in your account

Logging out the unknown session is the first step, not the last.

1. End the unknown session or terminate all other sessions.
2. Set or change your two-step verification password. Without it, someone who obtains a login code can log in again. With it, they also need the password.
3. Check your recovery email in the two-step verification settings. If it is not yours, change it.
4. Check connected websites and disconnect anything you do not recognise (see below).
5. Look at your chats for messages you did not send. Attackers often message your contacts asking for money or codes. Warn your contacts if that happened.
6. Review your username, profile and privacy settings in case anything was changed.
7. Check the channels and groups you own. Make sure the admin list is as you left it. Our guide to adding admins shows where to find it.

If the attacker has locked you out entirely, see recovering a hacked Telegram account for the steps that still work.

Sessions from third-party apps

Telegram's platform is open, so there are unofficial apps that sign in with your phone number just like the official ones. Each appears in Devices as its own session, usually with its app name.

Why they deserve extra attention

• They have the same access as the official apps. A session can read your cloud chats and send messages as you, whoever wrote the app.
• You may have forgotten trying one. Many people install a client once to test a feature and never use it again, leaving a session behind.
• Some are not what they claim. A fake "Telegram" app downloaded from outside an official store can be built to steal sessions.

What to do

1. Look for any entry in Devices whose app name is not one of Telegram's own apps.
2. If you no longer use that app, terminate the session and uninstall it.
3. If you do use it, make sure it came from a trustworthy source and keep it updated.

Our guide to third-party Telegram clients explains the difference between official apps, open-source alternatives and risky copies.

Assessing what an unknown session could have seen

If you find a session that was not yours, it helps to think through what it could have reached, so you know who to warn and what to change.

• Cloud chats and Saved Messages. A full session can read them. If you keep passwords, ID photos or documents in Saved Messages, treat those as exposed: change the passwords and consider whether any document needs action.
• Groups and channels you admin. The session could have changed settings, posted or added admins, within your rights.
• Secret chats. These are tied to the device they were started on. A new session elsewhere does not get your existing secret chats.
• Your contacts. The session could see your contact list and message the people on it.

Write down anything that needs following up, such as warning a friend or changing a password elsewhere, before you forget.

Websites and apps you logged in to with Telegram

"Log in with Telegram" on a website does not appear as a normal session, so terminating all sessions does not disconnect it.

1. Open Settings, then Privacy and Security.
2. Look for a section about websites or logins with Telegram. It only appears if you have used the feature.
3. Review the list of sites.
4. Disconnect any you no longer use, or use the option to disconnect all of them.

Disconnecting stops the site from logging you in with Telegram. It does not delete any account you made on that site; contact the site for that.

Lost or stolen phone

A lost phone is the most common reason people search for this.

If you have another device logged in

1. On your computer, tablet or another phone, open Settings, then Devices.
2. End the session for the lost phone.
3. Turn on two-step verification if you have not already.

The lost phone is signed out as soon as it connects to the internet. If someone finds it, they see the login screen.

If the lost phone was your only device

1. Get your number back. Contact your mobile operator for a replacement SIM or eSIM on the same number.
2. Log in to Telegram on a new device with that number.
3. Because this new session is fresh, wait until it is allowed to terminate older sessions, then end the session on the lost phone.
4. Set a two-step verification password from the new device as soon as you log in. Our guide to moving to a new phone covers what else to check.

Reduce the damage in advance

A Telegram passcode lock stops someone with your unlocked phone from opening Telegram. Our guide to setting a passcode lock explains how it works and what it does not protect.

What logging out does and does not do

It does

• Remove access to your account from the logged-out device.
• Remove cached cloud chats and media from that app.
• End secret chats on that device permanently.
• Stop notifications on that device.

It does not

• Delete your account, chats, contacts, channels or groups. Those stay in the cloud.
• Delete photos and files that were saved to the phone's gallery or downloads folder.
• Remove sessions on other devices, unless you terminate them separately.
• Disconnect websites you logged in to with Telegram.

If you want your account gone, that is a different action with permanent results; see what happens when you delete your Telegram account. If you are simply removing the app from a phone, see what happens if you uninstall Telegram, because uninstalling does not end the session on its own.

Do you actually need to log out?

When you choose Log Out, Telegram shows a screen of alternatives first. It does that because many people log out to solve a problem that logging out does not solve well. Match your reason to the better tool:

• "I want to save storage space." Logging out frees the cache, but so does clearing it, without the hassle of logging back in. See clearing Telegram's cache.
• "I don't want people who use my phone to read my chats." A passcode lock does that and keeps you signed in for notifications.
• "I want to switch to another account." The apps support several accounts side by side, so you can add the second one instead of logging out of the first.
• "I'm changing my phone number." You can change the number in Settings without logging out, and keep everything.
• "I'm taking a break." Muting chats or turning off notifications may be enough. Logging out is fine too; your account and chats wait for you.
• "I'm giving the device away." Logging out is right. Factory reset the device as well.

If none of these fit, logging out is the right choice.

Using Telegram on a computer you do not control

Shared computers at work, school, libraries or friends' houses are the source of many forgotten sessions. A few habits avoid them:

1. Prefer logging in by QR code from your phone rather than typing your number and code on someone else's keyboard. Our guide to logging in with a QR code explains how it works.
2. Use a private browsing window for Telegram Web, so the browser does not keep site data after you close it. It is not a substitute for logging out, because the session still exists on Telegram's side until you end it.
3. Log out from the web app before closing the tab. Closing the tab alone does not end the session.
4. Check Devices on your phone afterwards. If the session is still listed, terminate it from there.
5. Never tick anything like "remember me" on a public machine, and never leave the computer unattended while Telegram is open.

Multiple accounts on one device

If you use several Telegram accounts in the same app, each is its own session. Logging out on that device logs out only the account that is currently selected; the others stay signed in. Likewise, "Terminate All Other Sessions" applies to the account whose settings you are in. To clean up all your accounts, repeat the steps in each one. Check the name and picture at the top of Settings to be sure which account you are changing.

A simple session check routine

A few minutes every month or two keeps your account tidy:

1. Open Settings, then Devices.
2. Read each entry. Can you name the device in your hand or on your desk that matches it?
3. End anything you cannot name, anything you no longer own and old browser sessions you have forgotten.
4. Check that automatic termination of inactive sessions is set to a period you are comfortable with.
5. Open Privacy and Security and glance at connected websites and your two-step verification status.
6. If you run channels or groups, open each one's admin list and confirm it is unchanged.

This takes little time and is the most effective habit for spotting a problem early, before an attacker uses your account to message your contacts.

Worked examples

Example: a work computer you no longer use

You changed jobs and remember leaving Telegram Web open on the old office computer. Open Devices on your phone, find the browser session with the old office location and an old last-active date, and terminate it. Nothing else changes.

Example: a strange device in another country

You see a session from a phone model you do not own, in a country you have never visited. Terminate it, then set or change your two-step verification password, check your recovery email and look for messages you did not send. Assume your login code was obtained somehow, and warn friends not to trust any odd requests from your account.

Example: selling your old phone

Before selling, log out of Telegram on the phone itself, then factory reset the phone. Afterwards, check Devices from your new phone to confirm the old one is gone. If it is still listed, terminate it.

Example: a shared family computer

Your teenager used your Telegram account on the family computer to message you a file. Afterwards, end that session from your phone. If this happens often, a separate account for them is safer than sharing yours.

Troubleshooting

"For security reasons, you can't terminate older sessions"

Your current session is too new. Use an older device or wait until the new session is about a day old.

An unknown session keeps coming back

Someone is logging in again. That means they can get a login code, or they know your two-step password. Change the password, check that your recovery email is yours, and think about where your codes might be going, for example a forwarding app on your phone or a SIM swap. If you never set a password, set one now.

The session list shows my own phone twice

This often happens after reinstalling the app, which creates a new session while the old one has not yet been cleaned up. End the one with the older last-active time.

Telegram says my session was terminated, but I did not do it

Someone, or something, ended your session from another device signed in to your account. If you have other devices, check whether you terminated sessions there and forgot. If not, log in again immediately, set or change your two-step password and review the devices list; another person may have access.

I cannot find Devices in Settings

Look under Privacy and Security for Active Sessions, which is the older name. Update the app if neither exists.

I logged out and lost my secret chats

Secret chats exist only on one device and end when that device logs out. They cannot be recovered. Our secret chats guide explains why.

Common mistakes

• Trusting location alone. VPNs and mobile networks make your own devices look foreign, and an attacker can look local.
• Ending sessions but skipping two-step verification. Whoever got in once can get in again.
• Forgetting connected websites. They are listed separately.
• Logging out of your only device without your SIM. You need the number to log back in.
• Uninstalling instead of logging out. The session can stay active on the server until it is terminated or expires.
• Sharing the login code with "support". Telegram staff never ask for it.

FAQ

Does terminating sessions delete my chats?

No. Cloud chats stay in your account and reappear when you log in again. Only secret chats on the logged-out device are lost.

Will the other device be notified that it was logged out?

The app on that device simply returns to the login screen. No message is sent to anyone else.

How do I see which devices are logged in to my Telegram?

Open Settings and then Devices. Each entry shows the device or browser, app, approximate location and last active time.

Can I log out of Telegram remotely if my phone is stolen?

Yes, from any other device where you are logged in. If you have none, log in on a new device with your number and end the stolen phone's session once the new session is allowed to.

Why can't I log out of other devices from my new phone?

New sessions cannot end older ones for about a day. It stops someone who just broke in from locking you out.

Does logging out remove me from groups and channels?

No. Your memberships belong to your account, not to the device.

Summary

Every login is a session, and the Devices screen lists them all with their device, app, location and last activity. From a device you trust, you can end one session or terminate all others, and then log out of the current device from its own settings. A brand-new session cannot end older ones for about a day, which protects you from someone who steals a code. Turn on automatic logout for inactive sessions, check connected websites separately, and if a session was not yours, follow up with two-step verification and a recovery email check.