How to set a reminder in Telegram

The short version: open Saved Messages, type what you need to remember, press and hold the send button and tap Set a Reminder. At the time you pick, you'll get a "⁠📅 Reminder" notification. Below are the steps for each device and everything you can do with a reminder afterward.

Writing down "pay rent on the 1st" is only half the job. The other half is remembering it on the 1st, not the 3rd.

Telegram can handle the second half on its own, no bot required. Its reminders live in Saved Messages, the chat with yourself that every account has. Here's how to set a reminder in Telegram on your phone and computer, how to make it repeat and where to find it later.

Setting a reminder on iPhone and Android

The steps are the same on both:

1. Open Saved Messages. The fastest way is to search for it in your chat list.
2. Type what you want to be reminded about, for example "Pay rent".
3. Don't send it yet. Press and hold the send button instead.
4. In the menu that pops up, tap Set a Reminder.
5. Pick a date and time and confirm with the button at the bottom. On iPhone, that button spells out when the reminder will arrive: Remind today at 6:00 PM.

At that moment, the message appears in Saved Messages and your phone shows a 📅 Reminder notification. The reminder lives in Telegram's cloud, not on the phone itself, so it shows up on your other devices too.

Setting a reminder on desktop

In Telegram for desktop, a right-click takes the place of the long press:

1. Open Saved Messages and type your reminder.
2. Right-click the send button.
3. Choose Set a reminder.
4. Pick the date and time and click Schedule.

Making a reminder repeat

Since November 2025, a reminder can repeat: every day, every week or every two weeks, once a month, every 3 or 6 months, or once a year. The Repeat option sits right in the window where you choose the date and time.

There's one catch: a recurring reminder needs a Telegram Premium subscription. Without one, the app tells you that repeating messages are a Premium feature. One-time reminders cost nothing and work for everyone.

Finding, changing or deleting a reminder

As soon as Saved Messages has a reminder waiting, a calendar icon appears next to the message field. Tap it to open the Reminders list.

Press and hold a reminder there (on desktop, right-click it) to see your options:

• Send Now, if the task is better done right away.
• Reschedule, if your plans have moved.
• Delete it, if you no longer need it. On iPhone this item is called Delete Reminder.

One chat can hold up to 100 scheduled messages, and reminders count toward that number. For everyday life, that's plenty of room.

Setting a reminder from a chat

Since March 2026, a sender can format a date in a message in a special way, and it stands out in the chat. If someone sends you a date like that, tap it: you can choose Set a Reminder and it will land in your Saved Messages, or add the event to your calendar.

When the date is just plain text, it's quicker to make the reminder yourself. Copy what you need from the conversation into Saved Messages and follow the steps above.

Reminding someone else or a group

Chats and groups don't get reminders of their own in Telegram; scheduled messages do that job. Type your message in the chat you want, press and hold send (right-click on desktop) and choose Schedule Message. It goes out by itself at the time you set, and the other person gets a notification.

A scheduled message can repeat as well, and again only with Premium. It's an easy way to remind your team about the weekly planning meeting or your book club about the next get-together.

What Telegram reminders can't do

A Telegram reminder is a message that arrives at the right moment. For one-off things like "pick up the package on Thursday", that's enough, but it has limits:

• You can't mark it as done. The reminder arrives and stays in the chat as a message, handled or not.
• There are no due dates and no list. You can't see what needs doing today and what can wait until Friday.
• Repeats need Premium. Without a subscription, daily tasks have to be set up again each time.

Once your tasks pile up, a planner does the job better. In StarDo, every task has a due date, and the bot reminds you about it in Telegram as far ahead as you like, from one minute to 30 days. Recurring tasks are free. And for the task you keep putting off, you can add an optional promise backed by Telegram Stars: get it done on time and it costs nothing, plus your StarDo sky gets one more star. Miss it, and you pay the amount you promised.

Not sure which tool fits? We compared Saved Messages, Premium checklists and task bots in a separate article on how to make a to-do list in Telegram, with a comparison table.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a bot to set a reminder in Telegram?

No. A one-time reminder is free and works without any bot: in Saved Messages, press and hold the send button and tap Set a Reminder. Reminder bots and planners make sense if you want due dates, a task list or repeats without Premium.

How do I set a birthday reminder in Telegram?

In Saved Messages, type whose birthday it is, choose Set a Reminder, pick the date and have it repeat once a year. Repeating requires Telegram Premium; without it, set a one-time reminder and add a new one each year.

Why is my Telegram reminder not working?

Most often, notifications are the problem. Check that Telegram is allowed to send notifications in your phone's settings and that Do Not Disturb is off. The message itself still appears in Saved Messages at the scheduled time.