Telegram Tests HTMLBubbles — Messages Could Turn Into Mini-Interfaces Right Inside the Chat

Telegram may be getting a new type of interactive message that brings ordinary chats noticeably closer to Mini Apps. Test builds of the macOS client contain an experimental feature called HTMLBubbles, which lets the app display a more complex interface directly inside a message bubble.

Based on demos of the feature, such a message can contain toggles, animations, charts, cards and other dynamic elements. At the same time, Telegram has not officially introduced HTMLBubbles yet, and no corresponding message type appears in the public Bot API documentation.

So it is too early to say that Telegram plans to let developers run ordinary HTML, CSS and JavaScript pages inside chats. It is also unclear whether HTMLBubbles is a future public API or an internal prototype that never makes it to stable clients.

telegram is testing interactive messages, meaning an html miniapp inside a message. found in the macos client code whatsapp how’s it going https://t.co/zeGNmQ8MhO

— VLAD ARBATOV ㊙️ (@vladzima) October 8, 2026

Telegram Has Already Made Ordinary Messages Noticeably More Complex

The experiment looks like a logical continuation of the changes the messenger has rolled out over the past few months.

In June, Telegram added Rich Messages, a new structured message format for bots. It supports headings, tables, lists, math formulas, quotes, images, video, maps, collapsible blocks and other elements.

In August, the capabilities expanded: Bot API 10.3 gained buttons that can be placed directly inside Rich Messages. Telegram explicitly suggests using such constructs for polls, catalogs, games and other interactive scenarios.

That said, the current Rich HTML is not a regular web page. Telegram supports its own limited set of elements and turns them into a client interface. This format does not run arbitrary JavaScript or CSS.

Full-fledged web interfaces rely on a separate technology, Telegram Mini Apps. Such apps do use HTML5 and JavaScript, but they open in their own WebView rather than running directly inside a message bubble.

HTMLBubbles Could Blur the Line Between a Message and an App

If the experiment really does allow isolated web interfaces to be placed right in the chat feed, bot capabilities will expand noticeably. Messages could then include calculators, live charts, product configurators, mini-games or control panels for AI agents without switching to a separate window.

But that is exactly where the main technical question arises: security. Running JavaScript inside ordinary chats would require a strict sandbox, limits on access to the device, Telegram data and other messages, plus resource controls.

For now, the most cautious wording is this: Telegram is experimenting with more complex message rendering in the macOS client, but there is still no public announcement of HTMLBubbles, no developer documentation and no confirmation of support for arbitrary JavaScript.

So it is too early to treat the feature as a ready replacement for Mini Apps. But the direction is clear: Telegram is gradually turning an ordinary message from static text into a full-fledged interactive interface.