Telegram releases update with interactive HTML messages without an announcement

An update without an announcement

At the end of last week, the Telegram team released a major update to the messenger without announcing it on the official website. The release of the new versions was noticed by the Telegram Info channel, Spot.uz writes. The app for Android, iOS and macOS has been updated to version 13.2, and the desktop client to version 7.4.

Interactive messages in the chat

The main new feature is interactive messages created with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. They are displayed directly in the conversation, without launching a separate mini-app. According to Telegram Info's observation, such messages can already run small games with animation, touch controls and progress saving.

Widgets, wallet and topics

HTML widgets can send requests to a bot and receive responses, while the message content can change without being resent or edited. The Gram Wallet crypto wallet, launched in the previous update, has received integration with these widgets: the wallet can now be used directly in the chat. Recall that at the initial stage the built-in wallet supports only the Gram cryptocurrency and Telegram-related NFTs — unique gifts, collectible usernames and virtual numbers; until testing ends, access to it is granted after a transfer of at least 0.1 Gram to a username.

Context

Topics in group chats and bots can now be displayed as a side panel: when this option is activated, the list of the group's topics opens on the right side of the screen. The current update is at least the second major release without an announcement: in October, version 13.0 for smartphones and macOS was released, whose main new feature was Gram Wallet. Spot previously also wrote that Telegram is testing a recommendation feed based on the user's interests.