Telegram questions, answered

Yes. Telegram is completely free and shows no ads. You can download it on every platform at no cost. An optional Telegram Premium subscription unlocks extras like larger uploads and exclusive stickers, but the full messenger works without it.

Head to the download center and choose your platform. On Windows run the tsetup.exe installer, on macOS drag the app into Applications, on Android install the APK or use Google Play, on iPhone get it from the App Store, or simply open Telegram Web in a browser.

Telegram encrypts all data in transit and stores cloud chats on secure, distributed servers. For maximum privacy, use secret chats, which are end-to-end encrypted and never touch the cloud, and enable two-step verification on your account.

Cloud chats sync across all your devices and are backed up on Telegram's servers with strong encryption. Secret chats are end-to-end encrypted, tied to a single device, support self-destruct timers and are never stored in the cloud.

Just sign in with the same phone number on each device. Because your history lives in the cloud, every chat, channel and file appears automatically — no manual backup or transfer required.

You can send files up to 2 GB each (4 GB with Telegram Premium), including documents, uncompressed photos and 4K video, without the aggressive compression found in many other messengers.

Open Settings → Privacy and Security → Two-Step Verification and set an additional password. You'll be asked for it when linking a new device, which protects your account even if someone gets your SMS code.

Cloud chats return automatically the moment you sign back in, so reinstalling never loses them. Only secret chats, which are device-specific by design, cannot be restored after removal.