Telegram Bot API 10.0–10.3: Rich Messages, Ephemeral Messages, Guest Mode and More

Updated: October 29, 2026 · 6 min read

Telegram Bot API 10.3, released on August 24, 2026, is the current version of the Bot API with 185 methods. The 10.x series, which began with Bot API 10.0 on May 8, 2026, brought guest mode, live photos, rich messages with streamed drafts, ephemeral messages, communities and join request queries. Below is what's new in each release, with short JSON examples and the changes that can break an existing bot.

Telegram Bot API 10 at a glance

Bot API 10.0: guest mode, live photos and polls

Guest mode. After you enable Guest Mode in the @BotFather Mini App, users can mention your bot in chats it is not a member of. The bot receives a guest_message update and can send one reply with answerGuestQuery, passing guest_query_id from the message and an InlineQueryResult:

{
  "guest_query_id": "<message.guest_query_id>",
  "result": {
    "type": "article",
    "id": "1",
    "title": "Translation",
    "input_message_content": {"message_text": "Bonjour tout le monde"}
  }
}

A guest bot gets no access to the chat history or member list and won't see later messages unless it is mentioned or replied to again.

• Reactions and admins: deleteMessageReaction removes a reaction in a group; deleteAllMessageReactions removes up to 10000 recent reactions of a given user or chat. getChatAdministrators gained return_bots.
• Polls: media in polls, options and quiz explanations (media, explanation_media), plus members_only and country_codes. The minimum number of options dropped from 2 to 1.
• Live photos: sendLivePhoto sends a photo with a short video; live photos also work in sendMediaGroup, editMessageMedia and paid media.
• Other: getManagedBotAccessSettings and setManagedBotAccessSettings, getUserPersonalChatMessages, bot-to-bot messages by username when both bots allow it, and an empty text in sendMessageDraft to show a "Thinking..." placeholder.

Bot API 10.1: Telegram rich messages and join request queries

Rich messages are for structured output such as reports, documentation and AI answers. sendRichMessage takes a rich_message object with the content in html or markdown (10.2 added explicit blocks and a media list). Supported: headings, lists and task lists, tables, quotes, collapsible details, footnotes, LaTeX formulas, maps, collages, slideshows and media blocks. Limits: 32768 UTF-8 characters, 500 blocks, 16 nesting levels, 50 media and 20 table columns.

curl -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot123456789:AAEexampleTokenReplaceWithYours/sendRichMessage" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "chat_id": 123456789,
    "rich_message": {
      "markdown": "# Weekly report\n\n| Metric | Value |\n|:-------|------:|\n| Users | **1204** |\n| Errors | 3 |\n\n- [x] Deploy v2.1\n- [ ] Update docs\n\n$$E = mc^2$$"
    }
  }'

sendRichMessageDraft streams a partial rich message into a private chat while it is being generated. The draft is a temporary 30-second preview, so finish with sendRichMessage. editMessageText now accepts rich_message as well.

Join request queries. When your bot is set up as the guard bot of a chat, the chat_join_request update carries a query_id. Decide right away with answerChatJoinRequestQuery (approve, decline, or queue to leave the decision to other admins), or first show a Mini App with sendChatJoinRequestWebApp; the Mini App receives chat_join_request_query_id in its init data.

{"chat_join_request_query_id": "<chat_join_request.query_id>", "result": "approve"}

Polls also gained link media in 10.1.

Bot API 10.2: Telegram ephemeral messages, communities and Mini App security

Ephemeral messages are group messages visible only to one user and the bot, which keeps hints, welcome texts and personal results out of the shared timeline. Users can also send ephemeral commands (BotCommand.is_ephemeral) that nobody else sees. The delivery rules:

• Any bot may answer ephemerally within 15 seconds of an eligible action: a callback query (by its id) or an incoming ephemeral message (via reply_parameters.ephemeral_message_id).
• A bot that is a chat administrator can send an ephemeral message to any non-bot member at any time.
• Delivery is not guaranteed, especially if the user is offline.

Ephemeral messages have their own methods: editEphemeralMessageText, editEphemeralMessageMedia, editEphemeralMessageCaption, editEphemeralMessageReplyMarkup and deleteEphemeralMessage:

{"chat_id": -1001234567890, "receiver_user_id": 123456789, "ephemeral_message_id": 15}

• Communities: supergroups, channels and bots linked around a shared topic, with the Community type, community_chat_added and community_chat_removed service messages and ChatFullInfo.community.
• Subscriptions: the new subscription update reports changes to a user's payment subscription.
• Mini App origin protection: Mini App methods are blocked when called from an origin different from the Mini App domain. It was enabled for all Mini Apps on July 20, 2026, with an opt-out in @BotFather. See how to test a Telegram Mini App for what this means in practice.

Bot API 10.3: EphemeralMessageParameters, stoppable drafts and DisabledButton

Breaking change for ephemeral messages. The 10.2 parameters receiver_user_id and callback_query_id were replaced in 13 send methods (sendMessage, sendPhoto, sendVideo, sendAnimation, sendAudio, sendDocument, sendLivePhoto, sendSticker, sendVideoNote, sendVoice, sendContact, sendLocation, sendVenue) by one object, ephemeral_message_parameters. sendRichMessage accepts it too, and the new replace_callback_query_message shows the ephemeral message in place of the message with the pressed button:

{
  "chat_id": -1001234567890,
  "text": "Only you can see this.",
  "ephemeral_message_parameters": {
    "receiver_user_id": 123456789,
    "callback_query_id": "<callback_query.id>",
    "replace_callback_query_message": true
  }
}

Stoppable drafts. Pass can_stop to sendMessageDraft or sendRichMessageDraft to show a Stop button. When the user presses it, your bot receives a stopped_message_generation update with chat and draft_id, so you can cancel the model. keep_on_stop leaves the partial draft visible for a while; send it as a regular message if it should stay.

import time
import requests

API = "https://api.telegram.org/bot123456789:AAEexampleTokenReplaceWithYours"
text, last = "", 0.0
for chunk in generate_reply():          # your LLM token stream
    text += chunk
    if time.monotonic() - last > 0.5:   # don't send a draft per token
        requests.post(f"{API}/sendMessageDraft", json={"chat_id": 123456789,
                      "draft_id": 1, "text": text, "can_stop": True}, timeout=10)
        last = time.monotonic()
requests.post(f"{API}/sendMessage", json={"chat_id": 123456789, "text": text}, timeout=10)

• Disabled buttons: the new disabled field of InlineKeyboardButton takes a DisabledButton object, for example {"text": "Sold out", "disabled": {}}; the button does nothing. InlineKeyboardMarkup and ReplyKeyboardMarkup also gained force_reply.
• Rich messages: buttons inside the message (<tg-button>, <tg-button-row>), compact tables, expandable block quotations and document blocks.
• Admins: the can_send_welcome_messages right in ChatAdministratorRights and promoteChatMember.
• Ephemeral edits: new file uploads in editEphemeralMessageMedia, show_caption_above_media in editEphemeralMessageCaption and rich_message in editEphemeralMessageText.

How to upgrade a bot to Bot API 10.3

1. Update your library (python-telegram-bot, aiogram, grammY, Telegraf and others) to a release that lists Bot API 10.3 support in its changelog.
2. Move 10.2-style receiver_user_id and callback_query_id into ephemeral_message_parameters.
3. If you pass an explicit allowed_updates list, add the new types you handle: guest_message, subscription, stopped_message_generation.
4. Relax poll validation: a single option is now allowed.
5. For Mini Apps, make sure every Telegram.WebApp call runs on the registered domain.
6. Try the new methods with your token in the Bot API Tester: sendRichMessage, deleteEphemeralMessage and answerChatJoinRequestQuery.

Ephemeral and regular messages share the same basics, so sending messages with the Bot API is a good refresher, and Telegram Bot API limits lists rich message limits next to the classic ones. The full history is in the official Bot API changelog.