Where Does Telegram Save Downloaded Files?
Telegram's default download folder on desktop, plus where photos, videos and documents land on Android and iOS.
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Telegram Desktop saves downloads into their own subfolder inside your normal Downloads folder, which keeps them separate from everything else you download in a browser. On mobile, Telegram sorts saved media into type-specific subfolders rather than one flat folder.
On newer Android versions, exactly where those subfolders sit has moved due to scoped storage, the same underlying change that affects WhatsApp's storage location.
Where Telegram stores this, by platform
C:\Users\[Username]\Downloads\Telegram Desktop
Change it under Settings > Advanced > Downloads inside Telegram Desktop.
~/Downloads/Telegram Desktop
Same subfolder pattern as Windows, changeable in Telegram's Advanced settings.
~/Downloads/Telegram Desktop
Applies to the official Telegram Desktop build; Snap/Flatpak versions may sandbox this under their own data directory instead.
/Android/media/org.telegram.messenger/Telegram/
Contains subfolders like Telegram Images, Telegram Video and Telegram Documents. On older Android versions (pre-scoped-storage) this instead sits directly at /Telegram/ on internal storage.
Not user-accessible as a single folder
iOS sandboxing means there's no single Telegram folder to browse to. Photos/videos saved with "Save to Camera Roll" go to the Photos app; documents saved via "Save to Files" appear under On My iPhone > Telegram in the Files app.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop Telegram from auto-downloading media?
In the mobile app: Settings > Data and Storage > Automatic Media Download, and turn off what you don't want downloading automatically over mobile data or Wi-Fi.
Can I change where Telegram Desktop saves files?
Yes. Settings > Advanced > Downloads lets you pick a different folder, or set Telegram to ask you every time instead of using a default.
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