According to Mediascope for August 2026, the national messenger Max was used by an average of 69.9 million Russians a day, Telegram by 33.8 million. People are far less keen to keep standalone apps: according to an AppsFlyer report, in 2024 46.1% of downloaded apps were deleted within 30 days of installation, almost every second one.
For business this leads to a simple conclusion. The client opens a messenger every day anyway, and the company’s interface can be brought there: a catalogue, a price calculator, booking, a request. No installation and no trip to an app store. Such an interface is called a mini app.
The national messenger is enshrined in law: Federal Law No. 156-FZ of 24 June 2025 creates a multifunctional information exchange service. In March 2026 Max opened its business platform to all Russian companies and sole proprietors, and by July more than 500,000 companies and organisations had become its partners.
The easiest way to show what this looks like in practice is with two of our examples. In the mini app of our Telegram bot people leave a request, pick a service and calculate the price in a couple of taps. In a farm’s bot the “Open shop” button opens a catalogue with a cart, and the order goes straight to the same bot. Below is what from this experience will be useful to any company, and where the limits of such apps lie.
Short answer
A mini app replaces separate development where the client needs to quickly choose, calculate and place a request or an order: a catalogue, a calculator, booking, order status. A website is still needed for search and for those who do not come from a messenger. A native app keeps complex work without a connection, heavy graphics and deep access to the phone’s capabilities.
What a mini app is and how it differs from a bot
A mini app is a web page that opens inside a messenger from a chatbot button and looks like a regular app: tabs, cards, forms. A bot holds a dialogue with text and buttons, a mini app shows a full interface. A person installs nothing and does not register: the messenger passes the account itself, and the phone number can be obtained with one tap with the user’s consent.
Consent here is not a formality. The Personal Data Law requires it to be voluntary, specific and informed, so the button requesting a contact should explain why it is needed.
The Max documentation states plainly that mini apps “work only inside chatbots in MAX and cannot exist on their own”. Telegram works the same way. That is why it is better to design the bot and the mini app together: the mini app handles choosing and ordering, the bot sends confirmations and statuses.
Why this is faster and simpler than a separate app
First, one codebase instead of several. A mini app is a single web page: it opens in Telegram from a bot button, in a regular browser and on any phone. Separate builds for Android and iPhone are not needed.
Second, updates without store review. A fix is uploaded to the server, and the client sees it the next time they open the app. A regular app goes through the platform’s review every time.
What a mini app can already replace
Scenarios where the client comes with a specific task and leaves with a request or an order:
- a catalogue with photos and a cart;
- a price or delivery calculator;
- picking a service with a few questions instead of a long questionnaire;
- booking a convenient time with a reminder via the bot;
- order status and purchase history;
- answers to frequently asked questions.
In the farm’s mini app the catalogue updates itself every 20 minutes from the same data as the shop in the chatbot, and the order arrives in the bot the farm already works with. There is no need to maintain yet another storefront by hand.
Our main screen has four quick actions: leave a request, pick a service, calculate the price, ask the assistant a question. One or two taps to the first useful step.
Where a mini app will not replace a website and an app
First, search. A mini app is designed for those who have already come to the messenger. Articles, answers to questions and pages for search queries by which clients find a company in Yandex and Google remain the website’s job.
Second, work without a connection and heavy scenarios: offline mode, video processing, games with rich graphics. This is still the territory of native apps.
Third, the platform’s rules. Legal entities, sole proprietors and self-employed residents of Russia can connect to the Max partner platform; individuals and non-residents cannot pass verification yet. The Max mini app API currently has no payment functions, so payment is accepted via a link or a QR code of a payment service. The rules change, and time to check them should be built into every project.
Telegram or Max
The channel is chosen by where your clients communicate. According to Mediascope, in August 2026 the daily audience of Max in Russia was roughly twice that of Telegram. If a business works with a broad audience across the country, Max can no longer be ignored. If your clients communicate in Telegram, it makes sense to start there.
Technically, a mini app in both messengers is a web page tied to a chatbot. The interface, catalogue and calculations carry over. What has to be adapted anew is the layer that talks to the messenger itself: buttons, getting the contact, data storage. So one project can be placed in both channels.
What to check before launch
First, how it looks inside the messenger. The messenger’s built-in browser renders the design in its own way, so before release we look at every version on a phone inside the messenger itself, screen by screen, and not only in a desktop browser.
Second, the path to the first action. The fewer taps between a person and a request, the more requests are completed.
Third, communication through the bot. The mini app is closed, but the bot stays in the chat list: request confirmations and order status arrive through it.
Fourth, consent to data. Request a contact only when it is needed for the next step, and explain this on the screen.
Key takeaways
- A mini app is a company’s interface inside a messenger: no installation and no registration.
- It replaces separate development in “choose — calculate — order” scenarios: a catalogue, a calculator, booking, order status.
- A website is needed for search, a native app for offline mode and heavy tasks.
- The channel is chosen by audience: the daily audience of Max in Russia is now roughly twice that of Telegram.
- Every version is checked inside the messenger on a phone, and the contact is requested with the user’s clear consent.