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Telegram's new in-app browser really, really wants Web3 to still be a thing
- Telegram’s latest updates include new video tools, a mini-app store, and a new in-app web browser.
- The browser natively supports the TON decentralized network for Web3 content.
A couple years back, it felt like everything in tech was metaverse-this, metaverse-that. Buzzwords have a way of absolutely derailing the attention of the tech industry, whether we’re talking about AI or NFTs. For a little while in there, lots of players were looking to capitalize on the potential of Web3 — the idea of bringing proper decentralization to the internet, breaking down barriers, and enabling everyone to publish and access content on a level playing field. Fast forward to 2024, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that Web3 has lost nearly all of its momentum. Well, don’t tell that to Telegram, as the service announces the latest updates to its app — including a new Web3-enabled browser.
Telegram is sharing a ton of new functionality coming to its apps across platforms, including the ability to gift Telegram Stars to your friends, choose specific thumbnails for video stories, and even to brighten up your screen for extra illumination when filming with your selfie cam. But the one the company leads with is this new in-app browser, which it feels particularly proud about.
Your phone already has a perfectly good browser? Yeah, ours too. But Telegram seems to be targeting its very most dedicated users here, as the selling points are largely about its ability to keep you deeply enmeshed in its own ecosystem, jumping between tabs, messages, and the service’s mini-apps, all while you avoid distraction from anything that’s not Telegram.
What about that Web3 business? Telegram creator Nikolai Durov is also behind The Open Network (TON), the decentralized network this new browser is ready to tap into. While that sort of integration is admittedly probably exposing the project to more potential users than ever before, we’re still not sure where the demand is — what are they going to be looking for on TON that they haven’t found elsewhere?
Finally, speaking of those mini-apps we mentioned earlier, Telegram has built a new app store to help you find some. Just look for an Apps tab in Search to get started discovering.