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How to Set a Private Display Name for a Contact in a Messaging App

Tap through each step to see how to give a chat your own private label.

  1. Open the conversation you want to relabel

    Go into the individual chat whose display name you'd like to change.

  2. Open that contact's profile screen

    Tap their name or photo at the top of the chat to open their profile.

  3. Find the "Edit Name" or "Edit Contact" option

    Look for an edit option on the profile screen β€” in Telegram, this sits in the contact menu.

  4. Enter a name and save it

    Type in whatever label makes the conversation easiest for you to recognize, then save.

  5. Why it's useful

    A long list of chats named only by each contact's own profile name can get confusing fast β€” giving a conversation your own private label makes it far easier to spot at a glance.

Only you see the new name

This custom label only changes what you see in your own chat list and conversation β€” the other person's profile, and how they appear to everyone else, is completely unaffected.

Works for one-on-one chats, not just groups

This is different from renaming a group, which every member sees. A private display name applies to an individual conversation and stays visible only on your own device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the other person know I changed their display name?

No β€” a private display name is visible only to you and is never shown to the other person or synced to their device.

Can I do this for a one-on-one chat, not just a group?

Yes β€” this feature works on individual conversations too, letting you label them independently of both the group-naming feature and the other person's own profile name.