Zorge → Export a chat
How to export a Telegram chat — and why mobile does not have it
The feature exists, but only in Telegram Desktop — Windows, macOS, and Linux. The mobile apps (iOS, Android) have never had a standalone export button; that is a limit of the app, not something broken on your end.
Below is the walkthrough, plus what a snapshot like this cannot capture even when done right.
How to export a chat, step by step
- Open Telegram Desktop on a computer — not the mobile app, and not the web version in a browser; neither has this feature.
- Open the chat, click the three dots in the top-right corner, and choose "Export chat history".
- Pick what to include: photos, videos, voice messages, stickers, GIFs, files — each type has its own size limit, adjustable in the same window.
- Pick a format: HTML (opens in a browser, reads like a normal conversation) or JSON (machine-readable, for moving into another system).
- Click "Export" — the file saves to your computer's disk; it never goes into Telegram's cloud.
Why there is no button on mobile
It is not a stripped-down version or a regional limit — the mobile apps simply do not implement bulk history export at all. That is exactly where searches like "export telegram chat on iphone" or "on android" come from: there is no button to find on mobile, in any version.
The one workaround is signing into the same account through Telegram Desktop, even temporarily on someone else's computer, and exporting from there. Forwarding messages to yourself manually is not an export — the result is worse: no dates, no chat structure, and some formatting lost.
There is no PDF option — but there is a workaround
Telegram only offers HTML and JSON; there is no separate PDF format. The exported HTML file opens in any browser like a regular web page, and a browser's own "Print → Save as PDF" turns it into a PDF — less polished than a native one, but it works.
What will not be there, even if you do everything right
- Secret chats. They are not exportable at all — the same way they never leave the device in any other form.
- Anything after the export. This is a snapshot at the moment of export, not a subscription to future changes. A message sent, edited, or deleted afterward never makes it into that file — exporting again is the only way to catch it.
- The file lives only with you. Export saves to your computer's disk, not to Telegram's cloud. Lose the computer, and you lose the export too, separately from the conversation still sitting in Telegram.
These solve different problems, not competing ones. Export is the right tool for a snapshot "as it is right now" — an archive, a transfer, evidence. Keeping what gets deleted or edited afterward is not something a snapshot can do by design: it cannot know about the future.
Common questions
How do I export a Telegram chat on my phone?
There is no direct way — chat export only exists in Telegram Desktop for Windows, macOS, and Linux. From a phone, you can sign into the same account through Desktop on a computer, even temporarily, and export from there.
Can I export a Telegram chat to PDF?
Not directly — only HTML and JSON are available. The HTML file opens in a browser, and a browser's print dialog can save it as a PDF.
Why is there no export button in my settings?
You are most likely looking at the mobile app or the web version — neither has this feature at all. It only exists in the Desktop app: three dots in a chat → "Export chat history".
Are secret chats included in an export?
No. Secret chats never leave the device in any form, so export is unavailable for them the same way cloud storage is.
Does the export update itself as new messages arrive?
No, it is a one-time snapshot at the moment of export. Getting recent messages means exporting again manually.
Next
The Telegram bot that saves deleted messages — the mechanism, the setup, the price and the limits.
Telegram chats disappeared — where chats actually go, and the one case with no way back.