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Telegram Web Apps for Bots

core.telegram.org

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Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#31

Post by dotancohen »

Moldoteck wrote: post #8
aww_dang wrote: post #3

Would love to see this platform opened up. I've been recommended by users, but telegram always demands an app install for account creation. App install + mobile number as a login/username is a deal breaker for me. Horrible experience trying to explain why this isn't a sane security model to users.

And by default chats are not e2e encrypted. And even if you want e2e, it's not syncing between devices. Also groups are not e2e. Signal is cooler for encryption, heck, even fb messenger or Whatsapp. Featurewise yes, telegram is miles ahead

Even if the app is not e2e encrypted, that is much better in my eyes than the targeted advertising in WhatsApp. Go to the toilet more often than usual, suddenly diarrhea-related ads. Drop a friend off at a smoke shop, suddenly marijuana-related ads. I don't want to imagine if they have the drug dealers' and prostitutes' locations mapped, and what would happen if you stop there for some reason.

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#32

Post by mx20 »

I am surprised this is even allowed by Google and Apple. Tiktok also has something similar called Jump. I thought there is no chance to get an App approved that is basically an alternative web app store. I feel like this could be even more dangerous to Googles business model, than current AI. Imagine someone builds a search engine that has apps integrated like google flight or a calculator. But basically for every query a different app.

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#33

Post by afiori »

echelon wrote: post #11
Barrin92 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because Asia leap-frogged over old internet protocols in favor of platforms, whereas a lot of Western systems are tied into email, websites and the crawlable/open web. Same reason SMS is still popular in the US compared to ip-based chatting everywhere else.

Leap-frogged has the connotation of "progress". Walled gardens and controlled ecosystems are horrible and concentrate power in the gatekeepers. I hope the experience is kludgy and user unfriendly to the point that startups not contained in the straightjackets of other systems continue to win out.

On the other hand the only ecosystem where SMS work decently is the Apple walled garden that IIUC is not run on actuall SMS technology.

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#34

Post by konart »

freddie_mercury wrote: post #26
HelixEndeavor wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fragment? You mean Telegram's attempt to cash in on the cryptocoin scam, with their own walled-garden system and marketplace where it's currently hovering around $30 to buy a number, when it's genuinely cheaper to just get a Google Voice number or some prepaid burner phone number? Fragment, the service that is currently banned in the USA for being such an obvious scam?

Is it only $30? I just looked and all of the "ending soon" auctions have prices of $150 and up. With several of them at $4,000 and more. I know nothing about Fragment but I can only assume there's some kind of money laundering or other illegal activity involved to justify those prices.

> With several of them at $4,000 and more ... to justify those prices.

Those are nice looking ones. Some people spent great amounts of money to buy a nice phone number or a car plate (at least in Russia or Armenia for example).

A car plate\registration number like M888MM 777 will cost you 10M rubles ~122k USD.

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#35

Post by herbst »

FridgeSeal wrote: post #28
lysecret wrote: post #24

The first thing you realise when you start playing with LLMs and want to build a product around it is that you might not need a UI anymore but a text interface might be at the same time easier to build and much more intuitive. In this case the messengers have a big opportunity to become the next big platform. Telegram seems to be the one with the best apis. This shift might even make it possible to create a new messe…

Pity that _using_ telegram is a frustrating, spam filled messaging experience. Nothing nets me as much annoying automated spam as simply having an account there. More frustratingly, disabling messages from unknown contacts doesn’t appear to be a feature.

> More frustratingly, disabling messages from unknown contacts doesn’t appear to be a feature.

On the android client you find this option under privacy. Pretty sure it never hasn't been there

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#36

Post by herbst »

konart wrote: post #7
aww_dang wrote: post #3

Would love to see this platform opened up. I've been recommended by users, but telegram always demands an app install for account creation. App install + mobile number as a login/username is a deal breaker for me. Horrible experience trying to explain why this isn't a sane security model to users.

>mobile number as a login/username Well, you can buy a number (+888) on fragment and use one instead of your own.

Or just rent a temporary phone number and lock the account with a password so it's yours forever.

Costs like $0.2

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#37

Post by justsomehnguy »

FridgeSeal wrote: post #28
lysecret wrote: post #24

The first thing you realise when you start playing with LLMs and want to build a product around it is that you might not need a UI anymore but a text interface might be at the same time easier to build and much more intuitive. In this case the messengers have a big opportunity to become the next big platform. Telegram seems to be the one with the best apis. This shift might even make it possible to create a new messe…

Pity that _using_ telegram is a frustrating, spam filled messaging experience. Nothing nets me as much annoying automated spam as simply having an account there. More frustratingly, disabling messages from unknown contacts doesn’t appear to be a feature.

There are privacy settings, you know?

Did you set every option to 'Nobody' or 'My contacts only'?

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#38

Post by herbst »

HelixEndeavor wrote: post #23
konart wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>mobile number as a login/username Well, you can buy a number (+888) on fragment and use one instead of your own.

Fragment? You mean Telegram's attempt to cash in on the cryptocoin scam, with their own walled-garden system and marketplace where it's currently hovering around $30 to buy a number, when it's genuinely cheaper to just get a Google Voice number or some prepaid burner phone number? Fragment, the service that is currently banned in the USA for being such an obvious scam?

They sell cosmetic services for their app I wonder how that classifies as scam? It's also a market so user sell to each other, is that scam too?

Re: Telegram Web Apps for Bots

#39

Post by herbst »

andrewcamel wrote: post #4

Incredibly well positioned vs WhatsApp, iMessage, etc in the new world of LLM-enabled agents / chat bots… I’d put money on others launching similar things. Hard to see the current web UI remain the long-term format on mobile, maybe web too if the Telegram / other messaging apps well support this.

I've created many bots over the years with really sophisticated interfaces in Telegram.

For some reason it works for eastern people but barely for westerners. Every product made had more success with an additional web app. I always assumed it's because bots look all the same, it's hard to find scam indicators.

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