How to clear Telegram cache on Mac
You can clear Telegram cache on Mac without losing your chats: the cache holds the photos, videos and files Telegram has downloaded to your Mac, while messages stay in the Telegram cloud. Telegram makes two Mac apps with different settings, so this guide covers both, along with how to make Telegram limit its cache on its own.
- Open MacWashing and choose System Junk in the sidebar.
- Click Start Scan.
- Look through what it found and click Clean. Anything debatable stays unchecked.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Which Telegram do you have?
Telegram is the native macOS app. Telegram Desktop is the app Telegram also makes for Windows and Linux. In the Mac App Store it’s called Telegram Lite. If you’re not sure, open the settings: Telegram has Data and Storage right in its settings list, while Telegram Desktop keeps its storage settings under Advanced.
How to clear Telegram cache on Mac
In Telegram (the macOS app):
- Open Telegram and go to Settings › Data and Storage › Storage Usage.
- Wait while Telegram calculates the cache size. With a big cache this can take a few minutes.
- Clear the whole cache, or only photos, videos, documents or audio, or the files of one chat from the list of chats below.
- Confirm. The files leave your Mac but stay in the Telegram cloud: Telegram downloads them again when you open them.
Make Telegram clear its cache on its own
On the same Storage Usage screen, Keep Media sets how long Telegram keeps photos, videos and other files from cloud chats you haven’t opened: after that period they’re removed from the Mac. A cache size limit works the other way: when the cache grows past it, the oldest media is removed first.
Much of the cache comes from automatic downloads. In Settings › Data and Storage, Auto-Download Media controls which photos, videos and files Telegram downloads before you open them.
Clear cache in Telegram Desktop
- Open Telegram Desktop and go to Settings › Advanced.
- In the Data and storage section, click Manage local storage.
- Click Clear all, or clear only one type of files from the list.
- Below, set Total size limit, Media cache limit and Clear files older than so the cache doesn’t grow back as much.
Files you saved yourself are not cache. By default Telegram Desktop saves them to a Telegram folder in your Downloads folder. Clearing the cache leaves them there.
What stays after clearing the cache
- Chats, groups and channels: they’re stored in the Telegram cloud, along with their photos and videos.
- Your sign-in: clearing the cache doesn’t log you out.
- Secret chats: they exist only on the device where they were started, so don’t delete Telegram’s folders in Library by hand — that can remove them and sign you out.
If you want Telegram off your Mac entirely, see how to uninstall Telegram on Mac.
With MacWashing, it’s one click
System Junk in MacWashing clears Telegram Desktop’s cache together with your other apps’ caches in one go. Your chats and sign-in stay. For Telegram for macOS, clear the cache in its settings as shown above.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Will MacWashing delete my own files when it cleans?
No. It removes only what it can match to a known app or a known kind of junk, in places apps leave files; macOS and Apple’s files are never touched. Anything debatable is marked and stays unchecked until you decide.
What about apps that are open?
If an open app holds files being cleaned, MacWashing waits for it to quit or quits it at your request, and opens it again afterwards.
Is it free?
Yes, within the free trial: System Junk and the Uninstaller free up to 25 GB in total, with no account or card needed.
Will clearing Telegram cache on Mac delete my chats?
No. Messages and media from ordinary chats, groups and channels are kept in the Telegram cloud. Clearing the cache removes only the copies on your Mac, and Telegram downloads them again when you open them.
Why does Telegram take so much space on my Mac?
Telegram keeps a copy of every photo, video and file you open, and of media it downloads automatically. With busy groups and channels that adds up to gigabytes. Keep Media and a cache size limit stop it from growing without end.
Will I have to sign in again after clearing the cache?
No. Telegram’s own storage settings clear the cache without logging you out.