How to uninstall Telegram on Windows

Save any downloaded files you need first. Telegram's Secret Chats live only on the device that started them and are not guaranteed to come back after you sign in again elsewhere, so check them before you remove the app. This guide covers Telegram Desktop installed per-user from the Telegram.TelegramDesktop winget package. Telegram Desktop

Quit Telegram Desktop first

Close every Telegram window, then check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for a remaining Telegram process before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Telegram Desktop, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id Telegram.TelegramDesktop

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%APPDATA%\Telegram Desktop`	Your signed-in session (`tdata`), chat cache and downloaded media	Back it up first if you want to keep this session; Secret Chats exist only on this device
Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts	Shortcuts to the app	Remove
`HKCU\SOFTWARE\TelegramDesktop`	An app settings key	Safe to remove once the app is gone

Telegram Desktop also ships as a portable download with no installer; if you used that instead, just delete the folder you extracted it to, and remove %APPDATA%\Telegram Desktop yourself if the app created it.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process Telegram -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id Telegram.TelegramDesktop
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Telegram Desktop"
Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\TelegramDesktop" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown. A listed process means it is still running.
A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone; a matching row means the uninstall did not finish.
The first Test-Path returning True means your session and chat cache are still on this PC, which is expected unless you removed them yourself.
Get-ItemProperty returning values means the entry remains. With no output, check for permission or other query errors before deciding that it is absent.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same Inno Setup uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch %APPDATA%\Telegram Desktop on its own.

Account and other devices

Uninstalling does not delete your Telegram account or sign you out on your phone or another PC. If you also want to end this PC's session specifically, do that from Telegram's own device list on another signed-in device; a missing desktop app does not by itself end the session.

What Mole lists

For Telegram Desktop installed per-user from winget:

%APPDATA%\Telegram Desktop is where this install puts the program itself, so it goes with the app row, selected by default. It also holds tdata, your session and cached media: sign-in again afterwards, chats come back from the server.
Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts are selected by default.
HKCU\SOFTWARE\TelegramDesktop is listed but not selected.
If the tg:// or tonsite:// links still point at the removed program, Mole lists them too and backs them up to a .reg file before removing them.

What this test covered

Tested with Telegram Desktop 7.2.9 installed through winget, per-user scope, Inno Setup uninstaller run silently. The test installed it from an elevated session, so its uninstaller asked for administrator access; a normal per-user install does not. Not verified: Secret Chats on a signed-in account, or the portable download.