Here’s how to set up and edit folders to organize your Telegram chats and make the service easier to navigate.
How to Create Folders in Telegram
You can create Telegram folders using either the mobile or desktop apps; the process is near-identical on all platforms. No matter what device you’re using, you’ll need to open the Settings menu.
On Android or desktop, click the three-line menu at the top-left of Telegram and choose Settings. On an iPhone or iPad, just tap Settings at the bottom. Once there, tap Folders (or Chat Folders) to access the interface. If you have any folders, you’ll see them here.
At the bottom of the Folders page, Telegram will show Recommended Folders that you can select Add to create with one tap. These are handy, but it’s easy to make your own too.
Tap Create New Folder to set up a fresh one. First, set the Folder Name to something that clearly describes its contents. On desktop, you can click the folder icon silhouette to distinguish it at a glance; this isn’t an option on mobile.
Setting Included Chats in the Folder
Next, you’ll need to set the Included Chats. Select Add Chats under this option and you’ll see a list. The top has Chat Types, which includes five dynamic groups:
Contacts: Chats with anyone you have saved to your account as a contact. Non-Contacts: Your chats with people you haven’t saved as contacts, such as those you meet through channels. Groups: Any chats with three or more people. Not to be confused with Telegram channels. Channels: One-to-many broadcast groups. Usually, these are channels you’ve joined (unless you run one). Bots: Message threads with non-human Telegram bots. Check out the best Telegram bots if you’re new to them.
Below these, you’ll see a list of Chats. This contains all active chats in your account; if any of them are already in a folder, you’ll see its name below. Select as many as you want to include in the folder; you can mix and match specific chats and chat types.
When you’re finished, hit Done. You’ll see what you selected under Included Chats.
Excluding Chats From a Folder
Now, you can select Add Chats under Excluded Chats to pick anything you don’t want to appear in the folder. The dynamic Chat Types for this are different:
Muted: Use this to exclude channels where you’ve turned off notifications. Read: Enable this to only show channels that have unread messages. Archived: Hides archived chats. Archiving a chat hides it from your account, but it will appear again when a new message arrives.
Below these, you can select any individual threads as you wish. For example, you might want to exclude a particularly busy discussion from your list of favorite group chats.
Once you’re done, hit Create and you’ll have a new folder in Telegram. Repeat this to make as many as you like. To make changes, just select a chat from the list.
Using and Organizing Telegram Folders
On mobile, your folders appear at the top of the page; just tap one to show the chats inside. Long-press on a folder for a shortcut to edit it, remove it, or reorder your folders.
You can also head back to the Folders page to do this. Swipe left on a folder to show the Delete button, or hit Edit to drag them around. Note that when you delete a Telegram folder, it doesn’t affect the chats inside. Removing a folder only erases that organizational bucket.
On Telegram desktop, folders appear on the left side of the screen and show the icons you selected for them. Right-click and hit Edit Folder for a quick way to adjust one, or click Edit at the bottom of the list to jump back to the Folders page. To rearrange folders, just click and drag them.
Note that folder changes will sync across devices, so you don’t need to set them up again if you use Telegram across platforms. The order and their contents will sync immediately.
Inside each folder, Telegram’s usual organization options apply. When a thread gets a new message (either from you or another chat participant), it will move to the top. Right-click on the chat (on desktop) or long-press it (on mobile) to show the Pin option, which will keep the thread above all the others. Telegram lets you pin as many messages as you want, and they can be different in each folder.
And if you yearn for the old days of messy chats, jump back to the All folder to see everything jumbled up into one.
Telegram Folders to Try
What if you like the idea of folders, but aren’t sure how to actually put them into practice? Here are a few Telegram folder ideas to get you started:
A VIP (or similarly named) folder, which contains the groups and individuals you talk with most. An Unread folder that contains all your chats, but excludes Read messages. This makes it easy to see which threads you haven’t gotten back to yet. A Channels chat so you can keep up with channels, which are often noisy, separately from your individual chats.
Read more: How to Host a Voice Chat in Your Telegram Channel
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Think about the chats you access most and what gets in your way, then try setting up folders around those.
Telegram Folders to Control the Chaos
Now you know how to make folders in Telegram to sort your chats. Whether you just want to split work and personal chats into two folders, or use a dozen folders to keep track of everything you follow, they’re well worth setting up.
Meanwhile, this is just one of the many great Telegram features you should know.
