Telegram bots can now put polls, games, and TON payments inside a chat message, using a new widget feature.
The feature is part of Bot API 10.4, which Telegram released on 9 November. According to Digital Trends, bots can use a new sendWidget method to send messages with HTML widgets. For users, a vote or a purchase can happen in the chat itself.
Durov announced it on X on 10 November.
Any Telegram message can now become an app.
Pavel Durov, Telegram founder
Widgets can also ask the wallet to sign data. Payments run through Gram Wallet, Telegram’s own non-custodial wallet. Gram is the native currency of TON, previously called Toncoin. The widget asks its bot to prepare a transaction, and then Telegram opens a confirmation screen showing the bot, the payment sum, and the destination. Users have to approve it themselves. Developers are also advised to check the blockchain for transaction details and results before they treat a payment as complete. The sources don’t say what Telegram charges for payments.
Right now, widgets work only in private chats between a user and a bot. Groups and forwarding are still on Telegram’s test server, and Telegram hasn’t given a production date yet. Sent widgets are protected content, so they can’t be forwarded. Each widget’s code can be up to 32KB before compression, and anything more complex still needs a bot or a traditional Mini App. The wallet’s availability depends on app support and regional restrictions.
On WhatsApp, vendors that sell business tools say in-chat payments mostly run through payment links, with native in-chat payments in some markets. WhatsApp’s business tools include catalogue, quick reply, and broadcast features.
Telegram’s Mini Apps already open from a button in a web view, which adds a step before anything happens. Widgets skip that step by sitting in the message. X is another messaging rival, with its standalone XChat app.
