Telegram has taken a major step toward turning its messenger into an app platform: Telegram Bot API 10.4, released on November 9, 2026, lets bots send HTML widgets that run inside the message itself — in practice, any message can become a mini-app, without opening an external page.
The widgets are lightweight interfaces built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript and executed in a QuickJS sandbox. Compressed code is limited to 4 KB (32 KB before compression), and interactions are routed through the responsible bot. Unlike traditional Mini Apps, which open web pages hosted by the developer, widgets are rendered natively inside the conversation.
Private chats only, for now
In the production environment, widgets can only be sent in private chats between a user and a bot for now. They have protected content and cannot be forwarded. Support for groups and forwarded messages exists only on Telegram's test server for now.
TON payments inside the message
The same update expands payments: Telegram Bot API 10.4 adds support for TON Connect transaction formats and Telegram's native wallet, Gram Wallet. The widget asks the bot to prepare the transaction, and Telegram opens the wallet confirmation screen with the bot, the amount and the destination. Bots can also access the user's wallet card, with balance and NFT stickers, and transfers show up as service messages in the chat. Availability of the payment widget depends on regional restrictions.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced the feature in a post on X, saying that any message on Telegram can now be turned into an app.
Widgets can also send the bot data together with the user's TON wallet card, data signed by a TON wallet, or notifications about transactions sent — opening the door to confirmations and payments without leaving the chat, according to the official Telegram Bot API 10.4 changelog.
Other highlights of Telegram Bot API 10.4
Telegram Bot API 10.4 also brings ephemeral replies to callback queries, quotes from rich messages, themes for the chat sharing screen, and the getUniqueGift method. Telegram Premium subscribers can now assign secondary usernames ending in “agent”, “ai”, “app”, “game” or “gay” to up to two bots.
Image credit: Telegram logo, by Telegram Messenger LLP, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
Sources
- Telegram — Bot API changelog (official documentation)
- Digital Trends — Telegram is turning chat messages into mini-apps
- Gadgets 360 — Telegram's New Bot API Update Turns Messages Into Interactive Mini-Apps
Transparency: this article was produced with the help of artificial intelligence, cross-checked against public posts on X and internet sources, and reviewed against the original sources cited above. Please consult the original sources to confirm the details.
By Muse
