How to Create Chat Folders in Telegram

As an alternative to WhatsApp, Telegram is rapidly growing in popularity, both as a messenger app and a social media platform. With many people now using the social network, you’ll most likely have to deal with a massive flow of information across chat groups, family members, and friends. Fortunately, Telegram allows you to clear up this congestion by creating chat folders to organize your chats. This tutorial shows you how to create Telegram chat folders.

Tip: Is Telegram not saving your received images to your phone’s gallery? Learn how to fix it in this guide.

Create Telegram Chat Folders on Mobile

If you’re primarily using Telegram on your mobile device, follow these steps to start creating chat folders straight from your Android or iPhone.

1. Open Telegram on your mobile device
2. Tap on the hamburger menu in the upper-left corner of the display.

3. Select “Settings” from the side menu.

4. Swipe down and tap on the “Chat Folders” option.

5. Telegram offers a couple of recommendations for folders, including “Unread” and “Personal.” If you think they would be helpful to your organization, press “Add.”

6. If you would like to create a new chat folder instead, press the “+” button at the bottom of the page.
7. Add a name for your new folder.

8. Press the “Add chats” button to add conversations to your new folder.
9. Swipe through the available chats and select a conversation. You can even filter your conversations based on type and add groups, channels, and bots to your Chat Folders.

10. Once you’ve added all conversations, press on the Done icon in the lower-right corner of the display. Your conversations will be added to the new folder.
11. To finalize the process, press “Save” at the top.

12. You can also “Exclude” Chats from your folder, including Muted, Archived, or Read conversations.

Tip: one thing that Telegram lacks when compared to WhatsApp is the ability to set a status. Learn how to view a WhatsApp status secretly.

Create Telegram Chat Folders on PC

It’s also possible to create a chat folder on Telegram’s desktop client, making it possible to organize your chats on your PC.

1. Open Telegram for desktop on your computer.
2. Click on the hamburger menu in the upper-left corner.

3. Select “Settings.”

4. Click on “Folders” in the new window that appears on the screen.

5. You’ll see the two folder recommendations as shown above on the mobile app. Click “Add” to add them or select “Create new folder” instead.

6. Name your folder. Hovering your cursor on the folder icon will bring up a list of optional icons you can add.

7. Press the “Add chats” button to add the conversations you want to place in this folder.

8. Make your selection and press “Save” at the bottom.

9. The option to “Exclude” chats is offered again. Select “Create” when your settings are complete.

10. Your new creation will show up under “Folders.”

Good to Know: moving to a new device? Take your Telegram chats with you by exporting them.

How to View and Manage Telegram Chat Folders

Now that you’ve created your chat folder(s), you may wonder how to access them. We show you how below.

Mobile

1. On your mobile device, go to main Telegram app window after you create your folder. You’ll notice a new tab at the top with the same name as your folder.

2. Tap on it to access your folder. You’ll see a list of the added chats. Press on any of them to start chatting.

3. Remember that the chats you’ve added to your folder remain under the “All Chats” view. They won’t be removed.
4. If you don’t like the order in which the chats are arranged, reorder them as you see fit. To do so, long-press on the folder’s name and select “Reorder.”

5. From the same menu, you can “Edit folder” to add more chats or remove chats you no longer want to be part of the folder.
6. Optionally, add a new chat to your folder by tapping the Pencil icon at the bottom and selecting a contact.
7. You can also “Delete folder” from this menu.
8. Alternatively, return to “Settings -> Chat Folders” and perform the same operations.
9. You can move a conversation to a Chat Folder from the “All Chats” screen. Long-press on any chat until a few buttons appear at the top. Tap the three-dot icon.

10. Select “Add to folder.”

11. Choose your folder from the bottom or opt to “Create New Folder.”

Desktop

On PC, there are similar options available in a slightly different configuration.

1. Exit Settings and look on the upper-right of the app window for the folder name.

2. Click on it, and you’ll see the list of chats you’ve assembled.
3. If you wish to modify this folder in any way, click on the “Edit” button underneath the folder name.

4. A pop-up will bring up your Folder’s options, including adding more chats or deleting them from the folder (by clicking the Trash icon).
5. If you want to add a chat to a folder from All Chats, right-click it and select “Add to Folder -> [Folder name].”

Tip: Telegram makes it easy to create a channel. We show you how.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my secret Telegram chats be added to a Chat Folder?

Yes, they will be added automatically. If you have both a normal chat and a secret chat started with someone on Telegram and opt to add the interaction with that person to a Chat Folder, both conversations will be added to the folder in question. Once that happens, you can delete the normal conversation or the secret one if you want. If you’ve never started a secret chat on Telegram before, learn how to do so.

Can I pin a chat in a folder?

Yes. To pin a chat, long-press it if you’re in the mobile app and press on three dots in the upper right. Select “Pin” from there. On desktop, right-click the conversation in question inside the Chat Folder, then select “Pin” from the pop-up menu.

Can I remove a chat folder from view without actually deleting it?

Unfortunately, it’s not possible. Your only option is to remove the Chat Folder for good, which means Telegram will delete it. Telegram might add a function in the future that allows you to hide some Chat Folders from view in the main app window. Want to hide a conversation in Telegram “All Chats”? We show you how.

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.