Telegram stores all your messages, media, files, and account data on its cloud servers indefinitely until you delete your account. An average active Telegram user accumulates between 2 GB and 15 GB of data over several years, including messages, photos, videos, voice notes, documents, and stickers. Heavy users in large groups or channels can exceed 30 GB or more.

When you permanently delete your Telegram account, all of the following are irreversibly removed: all messages sent and received, all media including photos, videos, and voice notes, all files and documents, your contact list, your username and profile, your group and channel memberships, and any channels or bots you created. This data cannot be recovered by Telegram after deletion.

Based on Telegram usage patterns: a light user sends ~10–30 messages per day, a moderate user sends ~30–100 messages per day, a heavy user sends ~100–300 messages per day, and a power user sends 300+ messages per day across multiple chats, groups, and channels.

To check Telegram storage on your phone, open the Telegram app and go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Usage. This shows a breakdown of cached photos, videos, documents, and audio files stored locally on your device. Note that this only shows locally cached data — the full amount stored on Telegram’s cloud servers is typically much larger.

No. According to Telegram’s privacy policy, when you delete your account all personal data is removed from Telegram’s servers. Your messages are also removed from recipient devices. Telegram does not retain personal data after account deletion, though some minimal metadata may be held temporarily for legal compliance depending on jurisdiction.

Telegram keeps your data for as long as your account is active. If you become inactive, Telegram will automatically delete your account after your chosen inactivity period — set under Settings → Privacy and Security → Delete My Account If Away For. Options are 1 month, 3 months, 6 months (default), or 1 year.