How to Open or Restore a Telegram TDATA Account in Telegram Desktop

tdata is the folder in which the Telegram Desktop app keeps its local data: the signed-in session, settings and cache. While the session in that folder is valid, Telegram Desktop started with it shows the account as already signed in, without asking for the phone number again.

That is why a tdata folder must be treated like a key. Only open tdata that belongs to an account you own or are authorized to use.

On Windows the installed app keeps it in the Telegram Desktop folder under AppData\Roaming in your user profile; on macOS in Library/Application Support/Telegram Desktop; on Linux in .local/share/TelegramDesktop. The portable version keeps the tdata folder next to the Telegram program file.

To back up your own account, close Telegram Desktop completely and copy the whole tdata folder to a private, encrypted place. A copy made while the app is running can be incomplete.

1. Download the portable version of Telegram Desktop from the official site, desktop.telegram.org, and unpack it into an empty folder. Do not use modified builds from other sites.

2. Make sure Telegram is not running. Put the tdata folder next to the Telegram program file in that folder, so the two sit side by side. If you received an archive, unpack it first; the folder must be named tdata.

3. Start Telegram from that folder. If the session is valid, the account opens directly. If a local passcode was set on that data, the app asks for it. A separate folder keeps this account apart from any Telegram Desktop you already use.

Open Settings → Privacy and Security → Active Sessions (shown as Devices in some versions) and review the list. Sessions you do not recognize can be ended there.

In the same menu, set your own Two-Step Verification password and a recovery email, and add a local passcode if other people use the computer.

Check the profile, username and privacy settings, and change what should be yours.

If Telegram shows the sign-in screen instead of the account, the session in the folder is no longer valid, or the folder is incomplete or in the wrong place. Check that the folder is named tdata, sits next to the program file and was unpacked completely.

If it still does not open and the tdata came from an order in our store, message @fauqes with the order details. Do not send the tdata itself.

Never upload tdata to NEXO or to any website, and never send it in a chat. NEXO support will never ask for it. Do not share tdata, session files, login codes, QR codes, passwords or Two-Step Verification details with anyone.

Anyone who holds a copy of a valid tdata folder can open the account. Keep backups encrypted, delete copies you no longer need, and end the session under Active Sessions if a copy may have reached someone else.

This guide covers your own or authorized accounts only. Accessing someone else's account without permission is illegal and against Telegram's Terms of Service, and NEXO does not help with it.