Telegram Desktop 6.9.3

Unlike Signal, Telegram Desktop is a fully independent client rather than a phone-linked companion app, chats are stored in Telegram’s cloud and accessible by logging in on any device, with no dependency on a phone being online. Regular one-on-one and group chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default (they’re encrypted in transit and at rest on Telegram’s servers); only opt-in “Secret Chats” use end-to-end encryption.

Notable Features

Telegram supports very large file transfers (multiple gigabytes per file), channels with unlimited subscriber counts for broadcast-style communication, and a large bot API ecosystem used for everything from automated moderation to full mini-applications running inside chats.

Installing on Linux

tar xf tsetup.6.9.3.tar.xz
cd Telegram
./Telegram

Telegram is also distributed via Snap (sudo snap install telegram-desktop) and Flatpak, and packaged natively by most distributions, though the official tarball is generally kept more current than distro packages.

A Note on Encryption

If default end-to-end encryption for all conversations matters to you, Signal is the stronger choice; Telegram’s Secret Chats provide it, but only for chats explicitly started as Secret Chats, and they aren’t available for group chats or the desktop-to-desktop sync convenience that makes multi-device Telegram usage seamless in the first place.

Verify Your Download

Checksums for official builds are documented at desktop.telegram.org/changelog.