You cannot change your Telegram user ID, and the top icons are not something you control

Your Telegram user ID is a permanent number assigned to your account the moment you create it. Telegram generates this ID automatically — you do not choose it, and you cannot change it later. It stays the same for the life of your account, even if you change your username, phone number, or display name.

The top icons in Telegram (the buttons at the top of your chat list or inside a conversation) are features built into the app itself. You cannot customize which icons appear there or change their order. What you see depends on which version of Telegram you are using and whether you have certain features turned on.

The confusion usually comes from mixing up what you can change — your username, profile picture, and display name — with what you cannot change, which is your underlying user ID and the app's interface layout.

Key Takeaways

  • Your user ID is a number Telegram assigns automatically and permanently; it cannot be changed or hidden.
  • Your username (the handle people use to find you) is different from your user ID and can be changed anytime in settings.
  • The top icons in Telegram are part of the app design and cannot be rearranged or removed by individual users.
  • If you want to change how Telegram looks or works, focus on settings you actually control: username, display name, profile picture, and notification preferences.

The difference between your user ID and your username

This is where most of the confusion starts. Your user ID is a number — something like 987654321. Your username is a text handle — something like @yourname. They are two completely separate things.

Your username is what other people see and use to find you. You can change your username as many times as you want by going to Settings > Edit Profile > Username. You can also delete your username entirely and go back to being findable only by phone number. But your user ID stays the same no matter what you do.

Your user ID is mostly invisible to you. You will never need to type it in or remember it. Other people cannot see it unless they use a bot or third-party tool to look it up. Telegram uses it internally to track your account, your messages, and your contacts. It is permanent because it is the actual identifier that keeps your account find and connected to your data.

What the top icons actually are

The icons at the top of your Telegram app — the search icon, the menu icon, the settings icon, or any others you see — are part of Telegram's user interface. They are the same for everyone using that version of the app. You cannot hide them, move them, or replace them with different icons.

Different versions of Telegram (the official app, Telegram Desktop, Telegram Web) have slightly different icon layouts because they are designed for different devices. A phone app has different space constraints than a desktop app. But within each version, the icons are fixed.

What you can control is what happens when you tap those icons. You can customize your notification settings, choose which chats are muted, organize chats into folders, and change your privacy settings. But the icons themselves stay where Telegram puts them.

Why your user ID cannot be changed

Your user ID is tied to your account's security and data. It is how Telegram's servers know which messages belong to you, which contacts are yours, and which chats you are part of. If you could change your user ID, it would break the connection between you and all your data.

Think of it like a Social Security number or a bank account number. The number itself is not secret — many people might know it — but it is permanent because changing it would mean losing access to everything connected to it. Telegram treats your user ID the same way.

This is actually a security feature, not a limitation. A permanent user ID means no one can hijack your account by changing your ID to match someone else's. It also means your account history stays intact even if you change everything else about your profile.

What you can actually customize in Telegram

Even though you cannot change your user ID or the app's icons, Telegram gives you control over several things that affect how your account looks and works.

You can change your username anytime in Settings > Edit Profile > Username. You can change your display name (the name that appears in your profile and in chats) as often as you want. You can upload a profile picture or remove it. You can set a bio that tells people about yourself.

You can also customize how the app behaves: turn notifications on or off for specific chats, mute conversations, create chat folders to organize your conversations, change your privacy settings to control who can see your phone number or last seen time, and adjust theme and font size in Settings > Appearance.

Why people search for ways to change their user ID

Most people who look for ways to change their user ID are actually trying to do one of three things: hide their user ID from others, change their username, or change how their profile appears to other people.

If you want to hide your user ID, understand that it is already mostly hidden. Other people cannot see it unless they use a bot or tool specifically designed to look it up. Your username and display name are what people see. If you want to be harder to find, you can delete your username and set your privacy settings to "Nobody" for "Who can see my phone number" and "Who can see my last seen time."

If you want to change how you appear to others, change your username, display name, and profile picture instead. These are the things people actually see and interact with. Your user ID is invisible to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hide my user ID from other people?

Your user ID is already hidden from most people. Other users cannot see it in the app. Only bots or third-party tools can look it up, and only if they have your username or phone number. If you want more privacy, delete your username and adjust your privacy settings in Settings > Privacy and Security.

What if I want a different username?

Go to Settings > Edit Profile > Username. You can change it as many times as you want. You can also delete your username entirely if you do not want one. People will still be able to find you by phone number, but not by a text handle.

Does deleting my Telegram account delete my user ID?

When you delete your Telegram account, all your messages and chats are erased. Your user ID is deactivated but not reassigned to someone else. If you create a new account later with the same phone number, you will get a different user ID.

Why do I see different icons in Telegram Web versus the phone app?

Different versions of Telegram are designed for different devices. The web version and phone app have different screen sizes and layouts, so the icons are positioned differently. This is normal and not something you can change — it is how each version is built.

Can I use my user ID to log into Telegram?

No. You log into Telegram with your phone number. Your user ID is only used internally by Telegram's servers. You will never need to enter it or use it to access your account.