An experimental system called HTMLBubbles has been found in the Telegram beta for macOS (build 12.10.283300). It turns a regular message into a small interactive widget right in the chat feed: a product card with color and size options, a chart, a to-do list or a boarding pass. The leak was spotted on October 8. Telegram hasn't officially announced the feature, and it isn't available to users yet.
What was found in the code
The build contains 64 demo scenarios that developers use to test the system. They include:
- a product card with switchable options and a cart;
- dashboards with live charts;
- to-do lists and action panels;
- boarding passes, chess, timers and a code viewer.
The key difference from Mini Apps is that nothing needs to open. Today, for a complex interface, a bot sends the user to a separate Mini App window. With HTMLBubbles, small interactions stay right inside the message.
How it works
This isn't a browser inside every message. HTML and CSS are rendered by the lightweight litehtml engine, and JavaScript runs in a strict sandbox:
- scripts have no access to
documentorwindow; - network requests are blocked:
fetch,XMLHttpRequestand sockets are off; - external images over HTTP and HTTPS don't load, and
video,audio,iframeandcanvastags are ignored; - a single synchronous JavaScript call gets 50 ms, with a total cap of 200 ms per second and no more than 16 timers at once.
If a script hangs or crashes, the message falls back to a regular static version. That way Telegram makes sure one "heavy" widget can't freeze the whole chat.
What it could mean for marketing
If HTMLBubbles ever open up to bots and businesses, the familiar "post → button → external screen" chain could get shorter. Picking a product variant, answering a quiz or checking offer details could happen right in the chat, with no redirect. For e-commerce, Telegram funnels and lead generation, every extra step costs conversions, so the idea is interesting.
But it's too early to get ahead of ourselves. In the current prototype, widgets have no network access, so you can't place an order or submit a lead straight from a message. And most importantly, the feature isn't available to bots at all.
The security question
Showing text and a button in a chat is one thing; letting a message run code is another. Even in a sandbox, any rendering engine can have vulnerabilities, which is why Telegram cut the capabilities down so hard. The restrictions will most likely stay strict until release.
What's next
For now this is an experiment in the macOS beta, not an announcement. The feature may change a lot, get different restrictions or never ship at all. But the direction is clear: Telegram keeps turning from a messenger into a platform with bots, Mini Apps, payments and business tools. If interactive messages open up to businesses, it's worth factoring them into your funnels.