Here’s where Telegram saves files on your Windows PC and how to delete them:
By default, Telegram saves files on a PC according to the following file path:
C: > Users > [Your Username] > AppData > Roaming > Telegram Desktop.
If you want to delete any files, you can do it manually in the “Telegram Desktop” folder.
You can also automatically manage Telegram files through the app’s settings.
So if you want to learn all about Telegram’s files on a Windows PC, then this article is for you.
Keep reading!
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What Is Telegram All About?
Why even care about Telegram files in the first place?
Well, Telegram is a messaging platform that is used by many millions of people around the world.
It’s free to use, and it’s designed in a way that makes it accessible, universal, private, safe, and even ad-free (with some exceptions).
For these reasons and more, Telegram is popular, so you might be among the many who want to give it a try.
If you do, you’ll come across an important fact about Telegram. It’s designed around cloud features.
The entire service is in the cloud (with a few exceptions covered later), and that means you don’t have to download all of the conversations, pictures, videos, and everything else shared across the platform in order to access them.
But, you can download items if you want, and that brings us to today’s topic.
I’m going to explain how Telegram saves files for anyone using Windows.
Then, I’ll show you how to manage those files, including how to delete them as you see fit.
How Does Telegram File Saving Work on Windows?
The first thing to know about Telegram is that it does not save a lot of data by default.
You can change these settings (which is covered in detail later), but unless you do, you mostly have to download files.
That’s not quite the whole story, though, so let me take a moment to be thorough.
Telegram, like any other app or program you install on your computer, will download a number of files in order to function.
These are system files, and they contain the core code that makes everything work.
These aren’t really the files I’m discussing today.
Instead, this is about optional files that you can download if you want.
That can include conversations, pictures, videos, and anything else that you want to save from your conversations on the app.
In order to manually save content, you can simply right-click on it and choose “save as” from the options.
A window will open that allows you to customize what you are saving.
This is similar to saving anything else on Windows.
In the window that pops up, you can name the thing you are saving, and you can choose exactly where it will create the save file.
By default, this process will save things to a folder called “Telegram desktop” which is under the “Windows” master folder on your computer.
If you want to see exactly where that is, right-click on a picture and click “save as” in Telegram.
At the top of the window, you will see the complete file directory.
It will start with “ThisPC” and have several other listings ending with “Telegram Desktop.”
That’s the exact place you can locate the image in your File Explorer app.
Otherwise, you can follow this file path, if you’re comfortable with the convention:
C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Roaming\Telegram Desktop
If you change the location to save files in Telegram, it will remember, and whatever you choose will be the new default.
If you ever forget, you can use this same method to see where the information is saved.
How Do You Delete the Telegram Files? (2 Ways)
Now that you know where to find files, I can show you how to delete them.
For the most part, you have two options.
You can clear the cache, or you can manually delete things.
Let’s go through each option together.
#1 Clear the Cache
The easiest way to manage Telegram files and clear out extra stuff you don’t want is to clear the cache.
With the app open, you can navigate to the settings.
From there, you want the “advanced” option.
That will give you a few more options, and you’re going to choose “data and storage.”
One more list comes up, and you can choose to “manage local storage.”
When you do, you will see the checklist of items you can clear out of your device using this feature.
You can check everything if you want to clear as much as possible, or you can clear some options while leaving others alone.
Here’s the thing to remember.
Whatever has a checkmark next to it will be cleared, so double check before you finalize the action.
When you clear the cache, Telegram deletes the files on your computer associated with everything you have checked.
This can include specific chats and other communication on the platform.
#2 Manually Delete Files
Sometimes, you might want to get rid of some files without clearing the cache. That also works.
Technically speaking, you can manually delete any Telegram file on your computer, but that’s not exactly a good idea.
If you delete these files willy-nilly, you can easily break the app.
If you do, you can reinstall the app, and that should fix it, but if you want to avoid that scenario, I have some advice.
Only worry about manually deleting from the “save as” folder that you select when you choose to download items from the app.
So, if you stick with the default folder, only delete from the “Telegram Desktop” folder.
If you change where things are saved, only delete items from that folder.
To do this, pull up File Explorer on your computer.
Navigate to the folder that has the pictures or other items you want to manage.
You can right-click on anything saved in that folder.
When you do, there is an option to delete it.
Click that option, and the file will move to the recycle bin.
That’s all it takes.
How Do You Manage Files on Telegram for PC? (2 Options)
That covers how to delete files on Telegram, but there’s a little more to the story.
Instead of just deleting files, you might want a little more control over how Telegram works with files altogether.
You’ll find that in these next two tips.
#1 Controlling Save Locations
I’ve already explained how to change the default save locations for manual saving.
There’s one other thing you can do, and that happens when you install the app.
When you run through the installer, the window that walks you through the process will give you an option of where to save the app.
If you don’t like the default location, you can change it to anything you choose.
This is the other way to control where Telegram saves information by default.
#2 Managing Save Conditions
There’s another element to all of this.
Telegram does have features that automatically save things from your chats if you want it to.
You can manage all of this from the same “data and storage” settings that I showed you earlier.
In those settings, you can pick and choose what items are automatically saved or not, making it easier to control everything so you don’t need as much manual effort.
- Telegram Files: Saved Where on Mac?
- Telegram Files Download: Saved Where on iPhone?
- Telegram Files: Saved Where on Android?
- Telegram & Governments: How Safe?
- Telegram Downloads: Safe?
