How to Deactivate or Delete Your Telegram Account Permanently [Updated – 2022]

Introduction

Messaging apps have become our preferred way of communication, giving us the opportunity to connect with our friends anytime and anywhere.

While Facebook, WhatsApp, Wickr and Viber are the most famous of them all, there’s one app that has recently emerged to disrupt the market by claiming to be the most secure of them all. That app is called Telegram Messenger.

Since it was launched in August 2013 has grown to have more than 500 million people using it. This application was founded by entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

Source: backlinko.com

Telegram has been popular in countries such as Iran and Russia where governments have attempted to ban it several times.

However, WhatsApp’s policy changes saw Telegram benefit at the start of 2021 with Durov saying 25 Million new people signed up for it in just 72 hours.

Why Telegram?

Because of following great features, You should use telegram app as a Messenger:

  • Telegram is so simple you already know how to use it.
  • Lets you access your chats from multiple devices.
  • Messages are heavily encrypted and can self-destruct.
  • Delivers messages faster than any other application.
  • Has no limits on the size of your media and chats.
  • Keeps your messages safe from hacker attacks.
  • Telegram groups can hold up to 200,000 members.

Why You May Want to Delete Your Telegram Account

Even though Telegram boasts some useful features, there are still several reasons why you may want to deactivate your Telegram account.

Here are just a few:

1. Privacy concerns around Telegram:

Telegram was launched back in 2013 and there are millions of people who choose the messaging service over WhatsApp.

But Telegram has had its issues over the years, especially with regards to its famed privacy service. When the news came out that Telegram does not use end-to-end encryption by default, people had second thoughts over using the app.

2. Telegram has been Hacked Before:

There have been a number of issues with the security of Telegram in the past.

In 2017 hackers exploited a Unicode bug in the Telegram software that allowed them to install remote control cryptocurrency miners and malware on vulnerable Windows computers.

Security concerns about Telegram are still there, with many experts in encryption wondering why Telegram uses a home-grown cryptography protocol known as MTProto.

3. Your Friends Are Leaving Telegram:

Perhaps, some of your friends or family members are no longer on Telegram.

Hence, you’re following them away from Telegram to new pastures in order to stay connected.

4. Telegram Is No Longer the Best App for You:

With so many instant messaging apps available, there’s a chance Telegram is not the best messaging app for your needs anymore.

Maybe there’s a new IM app in town and you want to shift your conversations there.

How to Deactivate Your Telegram Account

Before deleting your Telegram profile forever, it’s best to understand the consequences of doing so.

Deleting your Telegram account will remove all your data from Telegram’s system. Messages, groups, and contacts associated with the account will be deleted.

The groups that you have created will remain and their members will be able to still chat with each other.

Admins of these groups will retain their rights. In case you’re the sole admin, Telegram will randomly assign an active member as the new admin.

It is irreversible and so if you log back in with the same number, you will appear as a new user and your contacts will be notified.

Also, you will need to have access to the device on which Telegram is installed. Telegram recommends deleting your account via a non-mobile browser.

By default, Telegram erases your account if it’s inactive for six months.

However, you can edit that setting and adjust how long Telegram should wait before deleting your profile. Besides six months, you can set it to a month, three months, or a full year.

Here are the Steps:

Edit Settings.

Adjust the duration, How long Telegram should wait before deleting your profile.

How to Delete Your Telegram Account

For those who can’t wait a month, Telegram allows you to immediately delete your account with all data.

The account delete option is not available on any of the native apps(Android/iOS) and is only accessible on the web.

So, to Deactivate/Delete your Telegram account, head over to the My Telegram web portal and sign in with your Telegram credentials.

After entering the Mobile Number Telegram will send you can verification code. Just enter the code and click on Sign in.

On the next screen, click the Delete Account link. In the available text box, write your reason for leaving.

Now, click on Yes, delete my account button to delete your Telegram channel permanently.

Caution:

This guide is not for users who want to just clear all of their conversations on Telegram.

For that, you can open the Telegram app and select the chats you’d like to delete by long-pressing on them. Tap the trash bin at the top to remove the highlighted conversations.

Alternatively, you can try reaching out to Telegram’s customer support and request them to remove all of your chats from their servers.

Export Your Data(Messages/Media..etc) Before Deleting Telegram Account

As we discussed earlier, Telegram doesn’t let you temporarily shut your Telegram account.

Once you go through the deletion process, you can’t undo the action and revive your account or read your old messages.

Luckily, Telegram offers an export option on its desktop clients in case there are any conversations you’d like to save for future reference.

You can download the Telegram Desktop Here.

To use it, install the Telegram app on your PC and sign in.

Click the three-bars in the top-right corner to reveal the navigation menu and select Settings.

Scroll down until you find the Export Telegram Data option.

Enter that and choose the type of data you’d like to export. You can specifically pick which chats are extracted, whether to exclude public channels, whether the archive should include videos or GIFs, the export format, and more.

You even have the ability to download only the stickers you’ve sent on Telegram in the past.

Click Export and, depending on the size of your data, Telegram will complete the extraction in a few minutes. Tap Show My Data to view the file.

Conclusion

I hope that now you have a good understanding of How to Deactivate or Delete Your Telegram Account Permanently.

If anyone does have any questions about what we covered in this guide then feel free to ask in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer those.

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