How to Hide a Telegram Chat on iPhone & Android?

Telegram has become one of the most popular messaging apps in recent years, offering robust encryption and privacy features. One handy feature is the ability to hide specific chats from view so they don’t show up in your main chat list.

This can be useful for keeping work chats or sensitive conversations out of sight. Telegram lets you hide chats on both iPhone and Android devices.

Here is a complete guide on how to hide Telegram chats on iOS and Android.

Let’s get started.

Also read: WhatsApp, Signal, And Telegram Users, Here Are A Few Security Settings Changes You Must Make

How to Hide Telegram Chat on iOS and Android

Using the archive chat feature doesn’t guarantee complete privacy for your chats. However, it remains the best choice to tidy up your chat lists and keep private conversations out of the main view.

So, to hide Telegram chats on iOS and Android devices, you can refer to this guide.

Part 1: Hide Telegram Chat on iPhone

Step 1: Begin by launching the Telegram app on your iPhone. Tap the Edit button located at the top left corner.

Step 2: Choose the conversation you wish to hide.

Step 3: At the bottom, select Archive.

Step 4: The selected chat will now be moved to the Archived Chats folder. To conceal this folder, long-press on it and choose the “Hide from Chat list” option.

That’s all! The chat will seamlessly vanish from your main chat list.

Also read: How To Keep Your Telegram Safe From Malware

Part 2: Hide Telegram Chat on Android

The process to hide a Telegram chat differs slightly on Android. If you’re using an Android device, follow these steps to hide a Telegram chat:

Step 1: Launch the Telegram app on your Android device. Locate the specific chat you wish to hide.

Step 2: Now, long-press on the chat you want to conceal.

Step 3: Tap the Archive icon situated at the top right corner.

Step 4: The chat will be instantly hidden. An Archived Chats folder will appear at the top of your chat list.

Step 5: Simply tap on the Archived Chats folder to access your concealed chats.

That’s it! This is the method for hiding a Telegram chat on Android.

Also read: Signal vs Telegram: Which Is The Best WhatsApp Alternative?

How to Unhide Telegram Chats on iPhone and Android

Now that you’ve learned how to hide a specific Telegram chat, you might also be interested in unhiding chats. Here’s the process for unhiding chats on the Telegram app:

Step 1: Launch the Telegram app on your Android or iPhone.

Step 2: At the top of the screen, tap on “Archived Chats.” Now, press and hold the chat you wish to unhide.

Step 3: Once the chat is selected, tap on the three dots at the top right corner and choose “Unarchive.”

Step 4: On iPhone, swipe left on the conversation to unarchive the chat.

That’s all! This is the method for unhiding a chat on the Telegram app for both Android and iPhone.

How to Delete Chats Completely on Telegram

If you want to wipe out a chat’s existence beyond recovery, you can delete it fully:

iPhone

Step 1: Open the chat you want to delete.

Step 2: Tap and hold the chat in the list.

Step 3: Choose ‘Delete Chat’ from the menu.

Android

Step 1: Open the chat you want to remove for good.

Step 2: Tap the menu icon (3 dots or 3 lines).

Step 3: Choose ‘Delete chat’ and confirm.

On both platforms, you can also swipe left on a chat and tap Delete to erase it quickly.

Once deleted, the chat will be gone forever unless you have chat backups enabled. So only use this option if you’re absolutely sure.

Also read: Telegram Vs WhatsApp: Which Is Secure?

Tips to Prevent Accidental Unhiding

If you’ve hidden sensitive chats, you may want to add protection against accidentally revealing them:

• Enable passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID for Telegram so only you can open the app.
• Turn off Telegram message previews on your lock screen.
• Disable Telegram chat and group notifications to avoid them popping up publicly.
• Use a privacy screen protector to block onlookers from seeing your screen.

With those precautions, your hidden chats should stay hidden even if someone gets ahold of your phone.

Conclusion

Telegram offers robust control over chat visibility for both privacy and organization. You can archive chats to hide them, while still keeping them recoverable in your Archived Chats. Taking it further, deleting a chat permanently erases its existence beyond recovery.

Restricting last seen, online status, and profile visibility to just your contacts is another layer of concealment. Enabling app lock, hiding notifications, and using a privacy screen keep hidden chats truly out of sight from prying eyes.

Overall, Telegram provides comprehensive options to conceal your conversations on iPhone, Android, and Telegram Web. Archive, restrict, mute, delete chats – Telegram puts you in control. Hide sensitive chats confidently knowing they won’t be easily stumbled upon. Follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

FAQs:

Q: How do I find my archived chats on Telegram?

On mobile, tap ‘Archived Chats’ at the top of your chat list. On Telegram Web, use the Archived Chats menu option. Your archived chats will be available there.

Q: If I archive a secret chat, will it still be end-to-end encrypted?

Yes, archiving does not affect the encryption of secret chats. They remain securely encrypted with the same protections as before.

Q: Can I recover a Telegram chat after deleting it?

Only if you have Telegram chat backups enabled in Settings. With backups on, you can restore deleted chats. Otherwise, deletion permanently erases the chat with no recovery options.