Telegram has applied for the .gram top-level domain. If approved by ICANN, the billion-user platform could offer personalized web addresses and interactive websites.
Telegram is seeking to expand beyond messaging with a proposed .gram top-level domain, a move that could eventually give users personalized web addresses such as yourname.gram.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced the application on X, saying that if ICANN approves it, Telegram's billion-plus users could receive their own second-level domains. The proposal could also allow users to create interactive websites hosted through Telegram using a single prompt.
The idea comes as Telegram pushes further into becoming a broader digital platform. The company already supports Mini Apps, bots, payments and other web-based services inside its messaging ecosystem. A dedicated .gram namespace could give those services a more recognizable web identity.
However, the application is still at an early stage. ICANN has only just closed its 2026 application window, and the organization has not yet publicly released the complete list of applicants.
Durov said Telegram has applied for the .gram domain zone through ICANN's latest new generic top-level domain program.
A top-level domain is the part of an internet address that appears after the final dot, such as .com, .org or .net. ICANN's 2026 round allows companies, organizations, communities and other eligible entities to apply for new domain extensions.
The application period opened on April 30 and closed on August 12, 2026. ICANN's application process is designed to evaluate whether applicants can operate a secure and technically capable domain registry.
Telegram's announcement therefore does not mean that .gram is coming to the public internet immediately.
The next major step is ICANN's Reveal Day, when it will publish the applications that passed the initial administrative check, including the applied-for domain strings. ICANN says Reveal Day is expected no later than nine weeks after the application window closes.
That means the public should get formal confirmation of Telegram's application later in 2026.
If the application succeeds and Telegram implements the proposed system, users could potentially have addresses built around their Telegram usernames.
For example:
yourname.gram
The concept would turn an existing Telegram identity into a web identity.
Instead of asking users to purchase a conventional domain, configure DNS records and build a website separately, Telegram could connect the username to a hosted web experience within its own ecosystem.
Durov also suggested that users could create interactive websites with a single prompt.
The exact mechanics have not been disclosed, so it is too early to say what those websites would look like or which AI systems would power them. Telegram has not published detailed technical specifications for the proposed .gram service.
Still, the idea fits with the company's existing push toward web applications inside Telegram.
Telegram is not starting from scratch when it comes to interactive applications.
Its Mini Apps platform allows developers to build JavaScript-based interfaces that run directly inside Telegram. Telegram says Mini Apps can provide functionality that can effectively replace a conventional website, while supporting features such as payments, authorization and push notifications.
The platform has also expanded its developer tools around bots and Mini Apps. Telegram says developers can build services and games for more than 1 billion users, giving the company a large built-in audience for web-based applications.
A .gram address could therefore become another layer on top of this ecosystem.
For example, a creator could potentially use a personal .gram address as a public profile, portfolio or storefront, while an online business could use it as an entry point to a Telegram-powered service.
That would bring Telegram closer to the role traditionally occupied by websites and domain registrars.
The potential scale of .gram is one of the most important parts of the proposal.
Telegram says it passed 1 billion monthly active users in 2025. Pavel Durov has also said the platform now has significantly more than 1 billion monthly active users.
That does not mean every user would automatically receive a .gram address.
Durov's statement describes the possibility of users getting second-level domains if ICANN approves Telegram's application. The final registration rules, availability and eligibility requirements have not been publicly detailed.
Still, even a fraction of Telegram's user base adopting personalized .gram addresses could create a large new namespace.
There is an important distinction between a .gram address and a domain that a user independently registers through a traditional registrar.
Under ICANN's framework, a top-level domain operator controls the registry for names beneath that extension. ICANN describes a domain registrant as someone who registers a domain through a registrar and receives rights and responsibilities associated with managing that registration.
If Telegram operates .gram as a closed brand namespace, users would likely be using addresses within a Telegram-controlled system rather than owning an independent domain in the same way they might own a .com.
That distinction could matter for portability, ownership and long-term access.
The exact structure will depend on the application Telegram submitted and the eventual registry agreement. It should therefore not yet be assumed that yourname.gram would function exactly like a conventional domain purchased from a registrar.
A dedicated domain zone could give Telegram more control over its digital infrastructure.
Today, Telegram relies heavily on domains such as t.me for links to users, channels and other services. A dedicated top-level domain could provide a much larger namespace under Telegram's direct control.
It could also unify several parts of Telegram's ecosystem.
A .gram identity could potentially connect Telegram usernames, personal websites, creator pages, business services, Mini Apps, interactive AI-generated experiences, payments, and other Telegram services.
That would make the domain extension more than a branding exercise. It could become part of Telegram's strategy to turn its messaging platform into a broader digital services network.
Telegram's application is only the beginning of the process.
ICANN's 2026 applicant journey includes administrative review, public disclosure, string evaluation, community input and objections, application evaluation and, where necessary, contention resolution. Successful applicants must eventually sign a registry agreement and complete technical onboarding before delegation.
The timeline is therefore measured in months and potentially years rather than weeks.
ICANN's projected process also includes a period during which applicants can face objections or contention with other applications. If another party has applied for the same or a confusingly similar string, additional procedures may be required.
For .gram, the next major milestone is therefore not the launch of user websites. It is confirmation that Telegram's application has entered the formal evaluation process.
The immediate milestone is ICANN's Reveal Day, expected within nine weeks of the August 12 application deadline. That will provide the first official public list of applications that passed the administrative check.
If Telegram's .gram application moves forward, the company will then face the technical, operational and policy requirements involved in becoming a new gTLD registry operator.
The bigger question is what Telegram ultimately builds on top of the namespace.
The combination of a billion-plus users, existing Mini Apps and a proposed prompt-based website system gives .gram significant potential. But the details remain unknown, and approval alone would not guarantee widespread adoption.
If Telegram succeeds, however, .gram could represent a meaningful shift in how users create an online identity: instead of starting with a separate website, domain registrar and hosting provider, users could potentially start with their Telegram username and build from there.
For now, .gram remains a proposal rather than a live domain zone. The next major test will come when ICANN publishes its 2026 application list and the formal evaluation process begins.
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AAVETelegram has applied for the .gram domain zone. If the application is approved by ICANN, a billion Telegram users could get their own second-level domains — yourname.gram. Users would be able to set up their interactive websites hosted by Telegram — with one prompt ✨
