2026年10月4日
When you organize chats into folders in Telegram Desktop, the unread badge on a folder tab sometimes does not match the actual unread count: the badge won't go away, or the number is too high or too low. This is usually caused by local unread state not being synced, folder rules counting read chats, or client cache issues. The steps below walk through troubleshooting in an actionable order.
Badge counts depend on unread state syncing between each device and the server. Start by opening the same folder on your phone or another logged-in device and check whether the unread count matches. If the phone shows the correct count but the desktop does not, it is most likely the desktop's local state lagging behind. In that case, open each chat with unread messages in the folder one by one, then switch back to the folder and see whether the badge changes. Note: right after the desktop client starts or the network just recovers, the unread count may be briefly inaccurate. Wait a dozen seconds or so before checking again, and don't rush to change settings.
Also distinguish the types of badges: a badge on a folder tab usually means there are still unread conversations in that folder, while the number is either the count of unread chats or the count of unread messages, depending on how the unread count display is configured in your client. First check whether there is a number next to the badge, then decide whether the issue is 「a badge that should disappear but doesn't」 or 「a number that doesn't add up」.
A common cause of inaccurate counts is the folder rules themselves. Open folder management in the desktop settings and review the include and exclude conditions for that folder one by one. If you have both 「include all chats」 checked and exclusion items set, or you mix status conditions like 「unread」 and 「read」 with other conditions, some chats may be counted twice or left out when they should be included.
Focus on two types of conversations: archived chats and muted chats. Whether archived conversations count toward the folder and whether muted conversations still show as unread both affect how the badge behaves. Try simplifying the rules to include only by chat type or only by a specific chat list, save, restart the desktop client, and see whether the count returns to normal. Before changing rules, write down the original settings so you can roll back.
If the rules are fine, refresh the unread state manually. Open each chat in the folder that shows as unread one by one, scroll to the latest message, and let the unread marker clear; for conversations you really don't want to read, use 「Mark as Read」 in the right-click menu. After handling all of them, the badge should decrease accordingly.
If the badge still won't go away, quit the desktop client (not minimize to tray, but fully exit the process), then open it again. Quitting and reopening makes the client re-fetch unread state from the server, and most lag issues are resolved at this step. If that still doesn't work, find the data and storage related options in settings, clear the local cache, and restart. Note: clearing the cache is not the same as logging out and generally does not delete chat history, but before doing it you should still make sure you remember how to log in.
If the count is still wrong after the three steps above, try another network environment to rule out incomplete syncing caused by a proxy or network interruption. You can also temporarily log in to the same account on the web version or another desktop device and compare the count for the same folder to determine whether the problem is limited to this one device.
If the error only occurs on one desktop device and goes away after reinstalling or switching devices, it can basically be judged as a local state issue on that device. At this point you can consider reinstalling the official desktop client obtained from telegram.org, or submit feedback in the app, describing your system version, client version, folder rules, and reproduction steps. Do not download installers from unofficial channels to 「fix」 this, and do not trust third-party plugins that claim to change unread counts.