How to Export a Telegram Chat (and Turn It into PDF)
Telegram doesn't have a one-tap "save as PDF" button, but it does have a genuinely capable export feature — as long as you know it only lives in one place. Here's exactly where to find it, the difference between the two export formats, what gets left out, and how to turn the result into a document you can actually read or file.
Only Telegram Desktop can export
This is the detail that trips people up: Export chat history is a Telegram Desktop feature only. The mobile apps (iOS and Android) have no equivalent option — you cannot export a chat from your phone. If you only use Telegram on mobile, install Telegram Desktop on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer, sign in with the same account, and the chat history will already be there to export.
How to export the chat
- Open Telegram Desktop and go to the chat you want to save.
- Click the ⋮ menu (three dots) at the top of the chat window.
- Choose Export chat history.
- Pick a format — HTML or JSON (see below) — and choose which content types to include: photos, videos, voice messages, and files. Each media type has a size limit you can set, so you can skip huge video files if you only need the text and photos.
- Click Export. Telegram downloads everything into a folder you choose.
HTML or JSON — which format?
| Format | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| HTML | A set of browser-readable pages — messages.html, then messages2.html, messages3.html and so on, splitting roughly every 1,000 messages into a new file | Opening directly in a browser to skim a short chat |
| Machine-readable JSON | A single result.json file with the full structured conversation | Feeding into a viewer or any tool that needs to parse the whole chat at once |
Media (photos, videos, voice messages, files) is saved into subfolders alongside either format, referenced by relative path from the transcript.
Exporting everything at once
If you want every conversation, not just one, go to Settings → Advanced → Export Telegram data instead of the per-chat menu. It runs the same export across your entire account — every chat, channel and group you're in — which is useful for a full backup but produces a much larger download than exporting one conversation.
What’s actually inside the export
The JSON export is a single structured object per chat: a list of messages, each carrying a type, a date, the sender's name, the text, and — where relevant — a reference to a media file in the accompanying folder. That structure is exactly what makes JSON the more reliable choice for anything beyond a quick look: a parser can walk the message list directly rather than having to scrape it back out of rendered HTML. The HTML export, by contrast, is meant to be opened and read as-is, which is why it exists as separate numbered pages rather than one file — a browser (or a person) can only comfortably handle so much on one page.
What can’t be exported
- Secret chats cannot be exported at all — they're designed not to leave a persistent, exportable record on either device, which is the whole point of Telegram's end-to-end-encrypted chat type.
- Mobile apps have no export option, as above — you need Telegram Desktop.
- Deleted messages aren't in the export, same as any chat app — only what's currently in the conversation gets included.
Turning the export into a PDF
A folder of HTML pages or a raw result.json isn't something you hand to another person or file away. Open the export in ChatViewer — drop in the result.json (or the HTML files) along with the media folder, and it renders as a proper conversation with photos inline, full-text search, and statistics, entirely in your browser. From there, Export PDF gives you a free copy of the first 500 messages with a small watermark, an Unlimited PDF ($9) with every message and no watermark, or a Court-ready PDF ($19) with Bates stamps, a SHA-256 integrity hash and a certificate template if the conversation needs to hold up formally.
Frequently asked questions
Can I export a Telegram chat from my phone?
No. Export chat history is only available in Telegram Desktop. Install the desktop app on a computer, sign in with the same account, and export from there.
Should I choose HTML or JSON when exporting?
JSON (result.json) is a single structured file that a viewer can parse in one pass, which makes it the more reliable choice. HTML is fine for quickly skimming a short chat directly in a browser, but long chats split across multiple numbered files.
Why does my export split into messages2.html, messages3.html, and so on?
Telegram's HTML export breaks the conversation into separate files roughly every 1,000 messages to keep each page a manageable size. The JSON export does not split this way — it stays in one result.json file.
Can I export a secret chat?
No. Secret chats are excluded from Telegram's export feature entirely, by design — they are not meant to leave an exportable copy on either device.
Does exporting notify the other person?
No. Exporting a chat is a local action on your own device and Telegram does not notify anyone else in the conversation.
Can I convert a Telegram export straight to PDF?
Yes. Open the exported JSON or HTML files (with the media folder) in ChatViewer and use Export PDF — free for the first 500 messages, or paid tiers for the complete conversation and a court-ready version.