How to export a Telegram chat history

Steps to export a Telegram chat

1. Install Telegram Desktop from telegram.org if you don’t already have it, and log in with the same phone number as your mobile app — your chats will sync automatically.
2. Open the chat or group you want to export.
3. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the chat window.
4. Select Export chat history.
5. In the export settings window, choose which content to include (photos, videos, voice messages, etc. — leave them checked if you want media referenced, or uncheck for a smaller export).
6. Under Format, select JSON — this is the only format Chat to Evidence (and most other structured tools) can read reliably. Do not choose HTML.
7. Click Export. Telegram asks where to save the folder — pick a location you’ll remember, like your Desktop or Downloads.
8. Wait for the export to finish; large chats with lots of media can take a few minutes. When done, open the folder and find result.json inside.

Why desktop only?

Telegram’s mobile apps let you save individual messages or share a chat, but the full structured export feature — the one that produces result.json with every message, timestamp and sender preserved — has only ever been available in Telegram Desktop. This isn’t a settings toggle you’re missing on mobile; the feature genuinely isn’t there.

If you don’t have access to a computer, the practical workaround is installing Telegram Desktop temporarily (it’s free) on any Windows, Mac or Linux machine, logging in, exporting, then logging out again if it’s a shared or borrowed computer.

JSON vs HTML export format

Telegram Desktop offers both a JSON export and an HTML export. HTML produces a set of web pages meant to be opened in a browser and scrolled through — visually similar to the app, but not structured data, so tools can’t reliably parse timestamps, senders or message boundaries from it. JSON keeps every field — exact date, sender ID, message type, reply references — as structured data, which is what makes an accurate, properly paginated PDF possible afterward.

If you’ve already exported as HTML and want a PDF transcript, you’ll need to redo the export choosing JSON instead; the two formats aren’t interchangeable.

Menus change — what to look for

Telegram updates its interface periodically, so the exact wording can shift. If “Export chat history” isn’t under the three-dot menu, check Settings → Advanced → Export Telegram data, which exports your entire account rather than one chat, or look for a menu item mentioning “Export” near the chat’s settings or info panel. The underlying JSON structure this tool reads has stayed stable across Telegram’s updates even when the menu location has moved.

What to do with result.json

Once you have result.json, you can convert it directly into a PDF transcript at Telegram chat to PDF — drop the file in, review the preview, and generate. That conversion also happens in your browser, so the export file is never uploaded anywhere.