Telegram Introduces Third-Party Verification and Bot API 8.2 Update

Official bots and mini-apps can now verify users and chats on behalf of other organizations by assigning custom badges ✅ and descriptions. This new system helps combat spam and misinformation, enhancing platform security.

Bot API 8.2 also introduces support for collectible gifts, allowing bots and mini-apps to use prepayment for their upgrades.

Full List of Changes:

New Methods: verifyUser, verifyChat: Enable bots to verify users and chats on behalf of an organization. removeUserVerification, removeChatVerification: Allow bots to revoke previously assigned verifications.

Gift Updates: Added the upgrade_star_count field to the Gift class. Added the pay_for_upgrade parameter to the sendGift method.

Changes to InlineQueryResultArticle: The hide_url field has been removed. Instead, use an empty string as the value for url.