There are two main ways to delete your Telegram account permanently:
1. Using the Telegram Mobile App:
- Open the Telegram app on your iPhone or Android device.
- Tap on "Settings" in the bottom right corner (iPhone) or hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner (Android).
- Navigate to "Privacy and Security."
- Scroll down to the "If Away For" section.
- Tap on "Delete My Account" and choose a timeframe for inactivity (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year) before Telegram automatically deletes your account.
- Enter your Telegram login code that will be sent to your phone number.
- Tap on "Delete My Account" again to confirm. (On iPhone, you might see "Telegram Account" instead).
- You may be prompted to enter a reason for leaving (optional).
2. Using the Telegram Account Deletion Website:
- Open a web browser and go to https://my.telegram.org/
- Enter your phone number associated with your Telegram account in the "Your Phone Number" field.
- Tap "Next".
- You'll receive a confirmation code via Telegram (not SMS). Enter the code in the designated space.
- Click on "Sign In".
- On the "Delete Account" page, you'll see a brief explanation of what deletion entails. You can optionally enter a reason for leaving in the "Why are you leaving?" box.
- Click on "Delete My Account" to permanently delete your Telegram account.
Important things to remember:
- Deleting your Telegram account is permanent. Once you confirm deletion, you will lose all your chats, contacts, messages, media, and groups.
- After deletion, your phone number will be blocked on Telegram for a certain period (usually a few hours or days). This means you won't be able to create a new account with that number immediately.
- If you decide to come back to Telegram in the future, you'll need to use a different phone number to create a new account.
