I built a free, unlimited cloud storage app using Telegram's API

TelStorage is live at https://telstorage.vercel.app/ — free forever, no sign-up required beyond your Telegram credentials.

The Problem
I kept hitting storage limits on Google Drive. iCloud wanted a monthly fee. Dropbox was too restrictive on the free tier. Then I realized — Telegram already provides unlimited cloud storage to every user. It just had no proper interface for managing files like a drive.

What I built
TelStorage is a web app that connects to your Telegram account via the MTProto API and gives you a Google Drive-style interface to manage all your files — completely free, with no storage limits.

Features
Upload any file — images, videos, documents, and more
Organize files into folders
Instant file search
Cross-device access — desktop, mobile, tablet
End-to-end encrypted via Telegram's infrastructure
No subscription, no storage cap, no data stored on my servers
How it works technically
Users authenticate using their own Telegram API_ID and API_HASH obtained from my.telegram.org. This means:

All files go directly into the user's own Telegram account
I never touch or store anyone's files
No third-party storage infrastructure needed
The app talks to Telegram's MTProto API to upload, list, and retrieve files — essentially turning Telegram's "Saved Messages" into a structured file system with folders and metadata.

Challenges I faced
Handling large file uploads within Telegram's chunked upload limits
Building a folder system on top of a flat message-based structure
Keeping the auth flow smooth and secure for non-technical users
Optimizing file streaming for large video files
What's next
I'm actively working on drag-and-drop folder management, file previews, and a shareable link feature. Feedback from the dev community would genuinely help shape what gets built next.

Try it / Give feedback

Live app and feedback form below — all responses are read personally.

Feedback form
Happy to answer questions about the architecture, Telegram's API quirks, or anything else in the comments. Would love to hear what the dev.to community thinks!