How to turn off automatic media downloads on Telegram Desktop

By default, Telegram on the desktop automatically downloads files, documents, photos, and videos every time you open the chat screen. However, not everyone wants these files downloaded unless it is necessary. Therefore, we are here with a quick guide for disable automatic media downloads on Telegram desktop.

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Disable automatic media downloads on Telegram Desktop

If you are a Telegram user, chances are you will be using it on your phone as well as your desktop. And if you are someone like me who receives a lot of files on Telegram or uses "saved messages" to save files, you might be annoyed with how the desktop app downloads these files automatically.

This not only consumes unnecessary data bandwidth but also fills your disk storage as files accumulate over time. Therefore, you may want to turn off the automatic media download feature on Telegram's desktop app or at least limit it to some extent.

Below, we have mentioned step-by-step instructions on how you can prevent Telegram files from automatically downloading to your computer. But before you start, make sure you have the latest version installed on your PC.

Steps to turn off automatic file downloads in Telegram PC

  1. Open the Telegram desktop app on your PC.
  2. Click on the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.Disable automatic media downloads on Telegram Desktop
  3. Click on Settings in the sidebar.
  4. On the next screen, click Advanced.
  5. Here look for Automatic media downloads.
  6. Under the same, select these options one by one - "In private chats", "In groups" and "In channels" and turn off automatic downloads of photos and files.Disable automatic Telegram Desktop media downloads

That's it. Documents, photos, videos or any other files you receive on Telegram will not be uploaded automatically unless you do it manually.

If you only want to reduce data usage, you can also limit the size of the automatic download file instead of disabling the feature altogether. You can also turn off autoplay for video messages, videos, and GIFs in the same settings.

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This was a quick guide on how to turn off automatic media downloads on the Telegram desktop app. Hope this helps you reduce unwanted internet usage and hassle of deleting downloaded files later. Let me know if you have any further doubts or questions in the comments below.

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