Telegram Mini Apps: what they are and how to open them

What a Mini App is

Telegram describes Mini Apps as interfaces that launch right inside it and can completely replace a regular website. Every Mini App belongs to a bot, and it is opened through that bot.

Mini Apps belong to whoever made them. Telegram's Mini Apps terms say they are offered and managed by third-party providers who operate independently of Telegram, and that Telegram is not responsible for their content, quality or transactions.

How to open a Mini App

Telegram lists several ways to launch one:

• The menu button near the message field — instead of the list of a bot's commands it can open the app.
• The "Open App" button ("Launch app") on a bot's profile, for bots with a main Mini App.
• A button inside a chat with the bot — under a message or in place of the keyboard.
• A direct link like https://t.me/bot_name/app_name.
• The attachment menu — some bots can be added to it, and then the app opens from any chat.
• Inline mode — a button in the inline results when you type @bot_name.

You can also look in Telegram's search: bots with a main Mini App that you have already launched appear on the Apps tab, where the Mini App Store lives too.

What a Mini App can ask for

A Mini App asks for your consent first, and you can say no. It can ask for:

• your phone number;
• access to your location;
• the right to message you from the bot;
• sign-in with a fingerprint or face;
• access to managing your emoji status.

Besides that, while you use an app, its developer automatically receives your IP address and may receive profile details: your Telegram user id, name, username, profile picture, language, Premium status and theme colours.

How payments work in Mini Apps

If a Mini App sells digital goods or services, the payment must be made in Telegram Stars. This is Telegram's requirement for bots and Mini Apps, and Telegram explains it by App Store and Google Play policies. You can buy Stars in advance — see how to buy Telegram Stars.

How to avoid scams

A wallet's secret recovery phrase (24 words in TON wallets) is for you alone. The terms of a TON wallet, published on its site, say that if you give the phrase to a third party the wallet is not responsible for the consequences, and a lost phrase cannot be restored. A Mini App that asks for a code, a password or a phrase is a scam.

Check the bot's @username before you launch an app: fake bots copy the name and the avatar. More about scammers' tricks: Telegram scams with Stars, gifts and Premium.

The Shiba Bank Mini App

The Shiba Bank bot (@barboskich_stars_bot) has its own Mini App. In one window you can buy Stars, sell Stars for USDT, get Premium, open your Stars wallet, start a giveaway or create a cheque. The same actions are available in the bot's chat.

Open it with the "Shiba Bank" menu button to the left of the message field or with the "Open App" button on the bot's profile. The app never asks for a login code, a password or a recovery phrase — and neither does the bot.

Frequently asked questions