Telegram is taking another step in transforming its messaging platform into something much more than just a place for exchanging texts, photos and videos. The company has launched interactive widgets that run within chat messages, enabling developers to embed small applications, services and payment options without sending users to a separate webpage or Mini App.
The move follows an announcement from Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who said any Telegram message can now be made into an app. The widgets are lightweight (the compressed code is limited to 4KB) and they use native rendering instead of opening a browser-like interface. But there is one big caveat: for the moment, production access is only available for private chats between users and bots. Widgets for groups and forwarding messages are still only available on Telegram’s test server.
Telegram wants chat bubbles to do more than just send messages
Telegram Bot API 10.4, released on November 9th, added the new widgets. Developers are able to create small interactive interfaces in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which Telegram runs inside a QuickJS sandbox. The application natively renders the interface, not via a WebView.
These widgets don’t work like the traditional Mini Apps that open web pages hosted by developers. They appear right in the message bubbles and remain visible as users scroll through a conversation. When they send a message, their code is locked, and they cannot take keyboard input. They also can’t connect to the internet directly. Instead, the requests are sent to the bot via Telegram, which can update the widget’s data.
The 4KB limit is for compressed code, not the total size of all apps. The code for each widget can be up to 32KB (before compression). Anything more complex will still have to rely on a bot or a traditional Mini App.
For the user, this could mean interacting with small services without having to switch back and forth between conversations, browsers, and applications. Meanwhile, developers get a new way to distribute lightweight tools in Telegram chats.
TON payments bring crypto transactions into the discussion
The more significant addition is payment support via Telegram’s native wallet and TON Connect transaction formats. Developers are able to build payment requests using the existing TON Connect code, without creating a separate wallet connection.
The widget asks its bot to get a transaction ready, and then Telegram opens a wallet confirmation screen with the bot, payment sum, and destination. The user has to authorize the transaction themselves. Developers are also advised to check the blockchain for transaction details and results before considering a payment as complete.
The integration is based on Telegram’s own Gram Wallet, a non-custodial wallet developed by the company itself. Gram is the native currency of TON, previously known as Toncoin. Of course, the availability of the wallet depends on app support and regional restrictions.
Telegram has big ambitions; it wants to turn chats into a place for users to interact with services and make transactions. However, the rollout is still limited, and the wider availability will depend on how quickly Telegram expands production support beyond private bot conversations.