Telegram terms of service, explained in plain English

Telegram's default chats are not end-to-end encrypted and are stored on its servers, only Secret Chats are. It has begun sharing user data with authorities under legal requests and its terms allow broad moderation.

🚨 Key things to watch out for

The clauses that could affect you the most. Read these even if you skip everything else.

Deleting your account or uninstalling the app does NOT stop Premium billing — you must actively cancel or keep getting charged.

2-B

Subscriptions auto-renew indefinitely and charges are generally nonrefundable, including no partial refund for early cancellation.

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📋 Every clause, explained

Browse what the terms actually say — filter by severity or by topic.

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Showing 18 clauses

0General Terms and Acceptance3 clauses

⚠️

Terms can change anytime

📝Can change terms anytime

0-A

💬 Telegram can change the general Terms of Service whenever it wants. For the base terms, no specific advance-notice period is promised here (unlike the Premium terms which do give 30 days).

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“We reserve the right to update these Terms of Service later.”

ℹ️

AI scraping / content licensing terms apply

🤖AI training on your data

0-B

💬 There is a separate set of Content Licensing and AI Scraping Terms that automatically apply to you. You should read that linked document to understand how your content may be licensed or protected from scraping.

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“Telegram additionally prohibits data scraping as part of its Content Licensing and AI Scraping Terms, which apply to all users, businesses, and third-party services accessing the platform.”

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Multiple incorporated sub-agreements

📌Other

0-C

💬 Using optional features (Stars, Premium, Business, Bots, etc.) binds you to many additional separate agreements you may not have read.

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“If you access certain optional features and services on the Telegram platform, you will be additionally bound by their specific terms”

1Premium Introduction and Payment2 clauses

⚠️

Automatic recurring billing

🔄Auto-renews

1-A

💬 Premium subscriptions renew and charge you automatically forever until you actively cancel. You must remember to cancel to stop being billed.

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“you agree that you are authorizing recurring monthly or yearly payments, which will be made to Telegram using the payment method you selected until the subscription is canceled by you or Telegram.”

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Third-party payment processors

🔗Shares with third parties

1-B

💬 Your payment is handled by outside companies, so their handling of your payment data also applies.

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“Telegram uses third-party payment processors to securely facilitate purchases of Telegram Premium.”

2Cancellation Policy2 clauses

⚠️

No refund for unused time

🔄Auto-renews

2-A

💬 If you cancel, you keep access until the period ends but get no money back for the unused portion.

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“you will not receive a refund or credit for any remaining days in your current billing period. At the end of your subscription you will lose access to all features associated with Telegram Premium.”

🔴

Deleting app/account doesn't cancel billing

🔄Auto-renews

2-B

💬 You can keep getting charged even after deleting your account or uninstalling the app. You must cancel through Settings (or Apple/Google) first, or billing continues.

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“Deleting your Telegram account or removing the Telegram application from your device does not cancel your subscription.”

3Paid Services Through Third Parties1 clause

⚠️

Data released on chargeback

🔗Shares with third parties

3-A

💬 If you dispute a charge or ask for a refund via Apple/Google, Telegram will share your account status and purchase data with that third party.

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“By issuing a chargeback or refund request for Premium subscriptions paid for through a third party, you agree to allow Telegram to release necessary data to that third party regarding your account status and Telegram Premium purchases.”

4Termination2 clauses

🔴

Ban with no compensation

⛔Account termination

4-A

💬 If you're banned for breaking the rules, you can lose your paid Premium features with no refund or compensation.

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“Failure to comply with the Telegram Terms of Service may result in a temporary or a permanent ban from Telegram or some of its services. In such instances, you might lose the benefits of Telegram Premium and we will not compensate you for this loss.”

ℹ️

Telegram can stop offering subscriptions

⛔Account termination

4-B

💬 Telegram can end subscriptions entirely, but in that case it will refund you the unused prepaid portion — a consumer-friendly term.

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“Telegram can decide to stop offering subscriptions at any time, including in response to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, or to comply with a legal requirement; in this case we will cancel your subscription and refund the prorated portion of any prepaid subscription fee”

5Taxes, Fees and Refunds1 clause

⚠️

Charges generally nonrefundable

📌Other

5-A

💬 Once you pay, you generally can't get your money back, and you can't get a partial refund if you cancel early.

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“Generally, all charges for purchases are nonrefundable. It is not possible to get a “partial refund” or credit if a user wishes to cancel their recurring subscription early”

6Changes to Pricing and Terms2 clauses

⚠️

Telegram can change prices and terms

📝Can change terms anytime

6-A

💬 Telegram can raise prices and change the terms at renewal. You do at least get advance notice and can cancel before the new price applies.

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“we reserve the right to change both these terms and the fees in effect on renewal of your subscription, to reflect factors such as changes to our business, different product offerings, or new economic conditions.”

ℹ️

30 days advance notice given

📝Can change terms anytime

6-B

💬 You'll get at least 30 days' notice of material changes and can cancel before a new fee kicks in — a reasonably fair practice.

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“We will give you no less than 30 days' advance notice of any material changes via a message to your Telegram account and you will have the opportunity to cancel your subscription before the new fee comes into effect.”

7Scope of Premium Services5 clauses

⚠️

Features can be added or removed

📝Can change terms anytime

7-A

💬 Features you paid for could be removed for legal or technical reasons, and boost/leveling rules can change at any time.

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“We may also remove some of the existing Premium Services if we are no longer able to provide them for legal or technical reasons.”

⚠️

No compensation for outages

🛡️Limits their liability

7-B

💬 If Telegram (including Premium) goes down or fails, you won't be compensated for any losses, even if you paid.

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“Telegram will not compensate you for any direct or indirect loss resulting from our temporary inability to provide any free or paid services.”

ℹ️

Transcription/translation uses Google

🔗Shares with third parties

7-C

💬 Voice-to-text and translation features rely on Google, so your data may be processed by Google and results aren't guaranteed to be accurate.

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“The accuracy and availability of these technologies depend on a third party (Google LLC, subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.), and we can not guarantee that they will always be accurate and available.”

⚠️

Giveaway results final, no liability

🛡️Limits their liability

7-D

💬 Giveaway outcomes can't be reversed and Telegram doesn't guarantee to fix technical mistakes affecting winners or organizers.

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“The results are final and cannot be altered or reversed. In the rare chance that a technical issue results in an unintended outcome, Telegram will attempt to rectify the situation but makes no guarantees to the organizers of a giveaway or its participants.”

⚠️

No refund for lost channel / giveaway disputes

🛡️Limits their liability

7-E

💬 If you pay for a giveaway and later lose your channel (banned, demoted, etc.), you get no refund, and Telegram isn't liable for prize disputes.

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“Admins who sponsored a giveaway are not entitled to a refund if they lose access to their channel.”

Telegram terms of service, explained in plain English — TOSTLDR