How to export and keep a copy of a Telegram chat

Updated 2 November 2026 · Keep, ROLIA GROUP LIMITED

For a one-time copy of available Telegram history, start with the free export in Telegram Desktop. If you want a separate copy of selected private chats that can keep receiving new messages on Android, Keep provides that ongoing archive. Choose the method before choosing a file format.

Choose the result you need

Your task	Starting point	Check before relying on it
Save available history once	Telegram Desktop export	Date range, selected media and output files
Keep receiving selected private-chat messages	Keep for Android	Connection, capture, storage and visible errors
Read or print saved text	PDF export from a saved Keep chat	The messages and period included
Work with text in a table	CSV export from a saved Keep chat	Columns, dates and included content
Keep saved media with the archive	ZIP export from Keep	Whether the media files actually finished saving

Export available history with Telegram Desktop

Open Telegram Desktop on your computer. Use Settings → Advanced → Export Telegram data, or open the menu of one conversation and choose Export chat history. Names can vary with the interface language and version.

Choose the history period and media types. Telegram's official export offers HTML for reading and JSON for machine-readable data. Keep the exported folder together if it contains media; a JSON file by itself does not include the media files.

Open the result and check the dates and a few messages before treating the export as complete. Telegram describes the feature in its official export announcement.

Export a saved conversation from Keep on Android

Open a saved chat and check the content you need. Look at pending media and errors before exporting. Text may have been saved before its files.

Choose PDF, CSV or ZIP according to the result you want. Open the exported file and check the same conversation segment you checked in the app. If you need photos or video, confirm that the expected files are in the archive; a successful text export is not a media-completeness check.

Free saves text. Paid plans add received edit history; Pro plans add media within their storage limits. See the current Android plans for the relevant limits.

Importing an archive on iPhone

The iPhone companion is a beta with a separate workflow. For local import, transfer a JSON file or a ZIP containing result.json and its media folder to the device and use the local archive importer in the iPhone beta. Menu names may vary by build. Importing a file does not start automatic updates.

Current import limits are JSON 20 MB, ZIP 200 MB, 100,000 messages including saved versions, and 500 MB after extraction. Split larger exports by chat or period. Android plans on this website apply to Android; the iPhone companion has no purchase flow.

You can inspect the structure using the sample JSON archive. It contains three fictional messages, including a received edit and a deletion marker, with no real conversations or media.

What an export cannot add

An export contains what its source has. It cannot recover a message deleted before saving, invent an edit version that was never received or replace a missing media file. A local import remains a snapshot.

For an incomplete Keep copy, check the selected chats, history period, Telegram connection, storage and media errors. The support page explains the current boundaries. For ongoing Android saving, review how Keep works before connecting your account.