How to permanently delete your Telegram account

Released in mid 2013, Telegram is an app that allows users to send messages to each other quickly and securely. With over 500 million users, it has been described as a platform that combines the features of SMS and email. If you do end up needing to delete your account for any reason, this article is for you! Read on to learn what it means to delete your Telegram account and the steps you can take to do so. 

Deleting your account on Telegram is quite simple:

1. Navigate to the deactivation page at my.telegram.org.
2. At that site, enter your phone number associated with your Telegram account (in international format) and click the next button.
3. From there you will receive a code to your Telegram account and can confirm the deletion of your account permanently.

Now what actually happens when you delete your account? Once your account has been deactivated, everything tied to your account will be deleted from the system. This means that your messages, contacts, and groups will be deleted on your end. However, note that the messages sent to your contacts and the groups you have created will still be visible on their end. The only way your messages can be deleted on both ends is to turn on the self-destruct timer prior to sending your messages. 

In the chance your device was stolen and you want to delete your account, you can delete it from another device as long as you are signed in on that other device. Interestingly enough, it is possible for your Telegram account to delete itself on its own with a feature called self-destruction. This feature could be useful if your device was stolen as self-destruct usually occurs if you are inactive on Telegram for six months. Similar to when you manually delete your Telegram account, the self-destruction feature will permanently delete all messages, contacts, groups, and other data tied to your account. If you wish to change the time period of inactivity before your account self-destructs, you can do so in the self-destruct section of your account settings. 

When going to delete your account, it is important that you are completely sure of your decision. The deletion of your Telegram account is irreversible and you will not have access to your prior message history, contacts, or chat groups. In order to use Telegram after deleting your account, you will have to create a brand new account.