Project Overview
This real-time chat application enables users to communicate instantly through text messages, share media, and maintain conversation history. It features user authentication, contact lists, real-time notifications, and end-to-end message encryption for privacy. The frontend was built with React for a responsive interface, while Firebase provided backend services, authentication, and real-time database functionality.
Features
- Real-time messaging with typing indicators
- User presence status (online/offline)
- Media sharing capabilities
- Message read receipts
- End-to-end encryption
- Push notifications
- Message search and history
Challenges
Ensuring reliable real-time communication across different network conditions while maintaining message delivery guarantees was challenging. I also needed to implement proper encryption for message privacy.
Solution
I used Socket.io for reliable WebSocket connections with fallback options and implemented a message queue system to handle offline messages. For security, I implemented end-to-end encryption using the Web Crypto API.