Export guide

How to export a Telegram chat

By the Clarity Forensics team · Updated October 22, 2026

Telegram's phone apps can't export a conversation, but Telegram Desktop can. On a Windows, Mac or Linux computer, open the chat in Telegram Desktop, open the chat's menu, choose Export chat history, untick photos and other media, pick Machine-readable JSON, and export. You get a folder with a result.json file that you can move to your phone and import into Clarity.

Export one Telegram chat

Install Telegram Desktop. Download it from desktop.telegram.org and sign in. On a Mac, use Telegram Desktop from that site; the separate "Telegram for macOS" app from the App Store may not have this option.
Open the chat. Open the conversation you want a copy of.
Choose Export chat history. Open the chat's menu (the ⋮ or … button at the top right) and click Export chat history.
Leave out media. Untick photos, videos, voice messages and files. You only need the text, and the export is much faster without them.
Pick JSON and export. Choose Machine-readable JSON as the format, check the date range, and click Export. Telegram saves a folder with a result.json file.
Move the file to your phone. Copy result.json to your Android phone, for example with a USB cable or a cloud drive you trust.
Import it. In Clarity, tap Import File and choose result.json.

Good to know

Security delay. If you only just signed in to Telegram Desktop, Telegram may hold the export for a while or ask you to confirm it from another device. That's a security measure to stop someone who gets into your account from copying your chats.
HTML works too. The Human-readable HTML option creates messages.html files that Clarity can also read, but long chats are split across several files. JSON keeps everything in one file.
Export one chat, not the whole account. Telegram Desktop also has a full-account export under Settings › Advanced › Export Telegram data. For Clarity, use the single-chat export above.
Secret chats exist only on the phones in the chat, so they can't be exported from Telegram Desktop.
Nobody is notified. Exporting doesn't tell the other person.

Then see what the conversation shows

Clarity is a free Android app that reads the file you export and shows where patterns like gaslighting, love bombing and DARVO appear, with the messages behind every flag, a health score and a timeline. Pattern detection runs on your phone.

Get Clarity on Google Play

Not sure what to look for? Read the red flag guides.

Questions

Can I export a Telegram chat from my phone?

No. Chat export is only in Telegram Desktop for Windows, Mac and Linux. Install it, sign in, and use Export chat history from the chat's menu.

Should I export Telegram chats as HTML or JSON?

Choose Machine-readable JSON if you want to import the chat into another app. It puts the whole conversation in one result.json file. HTML is easier to read in a browser but splits long chats across several files.

Why is my Telegram export delayed?

If you recently signed in to Telegram Desktop, Telegram may delay the export or ask you to confirm it from another device. This protects your chats if someone else gets into your account.

Can I export Telegram secret chats?

No. Secret chats are stored only on the devices taking part in them, so Telegram Desktop cannot export them.

Sources

Telegram. Chat export tool, better notifications and more.
Telegram. Telegram data export schema.