1:1 square
The frame must be square — Telegram crops videos in the centre. Automatic cropping does this cleanly.
Updated for 2026 · 3 min read
How to make a video note in Telegram
A video note (also called a “circle”) is a short round video that Telegram shows next to the chat. Recording a new one with the camera is easy — but turning an existing video file into a circle is not possible with built-in tools: Telegram cannot convert files. Below is how to do it in three steps and which limits matter.
Method 1. The @Video_Circlee_bot bot — 3 steps
The fastest way: nothing to install, the conversion takes a few seconds, and the bot downloads, crops and encodes the file for you.
Open the bot
Go to @Video_Circlee_bot and press Start. No sign-up or phone number needed.
Send a video
Send it as a message or a file: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WEBM, GIF. Up to 20 MB.
Get the circle
The bot returns a ready 640×640 video note that you can forward anywhere.
Telegram's requirements for circles
These limits are set by Telegram itself, so every converter has to respect them:
Up to 60 seconds
A circle cannot be longer than one minute. Longer sources are trimmed to 60 seconds.
Video note format
The file must be MP4 (H.264) with a square frame — exactly what the bot produces.
File size
Bots can download files up to 20 MB. If the result is heavy, the bot re-encodes it automatically.
Common mistakes
- Sending a video larger than 20 MB — Telegram will not let a bot download it. Compress or trim first.
- The circle “won't send” — almost always the file is not square or longer than 60 seconds.
- The face gets cropped — centre cropping removes the edges. Keep the subject in the middle of the frame.
- No sound — if the source has no audio track, the circle will be silent: a converter cannot invent audio.
- Sending as a document — more reliable: Telegram does not try to preview or alter the file.
What else the bot can do
Besides circles from video, @Video_Circlee_bot creates voice messages from audio files: MP3, WAV, M4A and OGG become real Opus voice messages that are comfortable to listen to in Telegram. Three conversions per day are free; Premium removes the daily limit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a circle from a video without third-party software?
Not with built-in Telegram tools: the app can only record a new circle with the camera. Converting an existing file requires a converter or a bot.
Why is the circle trimmed to 60 seconds?
That is Telegram's technical limit for video notes. The bot trims the video automatically, starting from the first seconds.
Can I forward the circle to another chat?
Yes. A circle is a regular message: you can forward it, save it to Saved Messages and post it to groups and channels.
Is my video stored on the server?
No. The source file and the result are deleted right after delivery; only processing statistics remain in the database.
Make your first circle right now
Open the bot, send a video and get a ready video note in a couple of seconds.
Open @Video_Circlee_bot