In-App Chat Messaging UI/UX Impact

Nick Parsons
The Startup
Published in
10 min readFeb 13, 2020

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Adding chat to your application has traditionally been a rather complicated process. Most of the early direct messaging with chat were handled by dedicated third party applications like AOL Instant Messenger. The internet thrived early on because it made messaging your friends, receiving news, building communities through private or group chat rooms easy and quick (even on slow connections).

Although the applications have changed over the years, the user habits and expectations for an in-app chat have slowly evolved. We’re going to consider some of the best ways to design your in-app chat examples and their user experience.

What Is In-App Chat?

In-app chat is typically used for private bidirectional chat and direct messaging between or more people. It takes place in social networks with activity feeds, native applications, and other digital products or marketplaces. In-app chat best practices involve multiple patterns for people to connect on a more personal level and discuss whatever interests they share. When applications and products have to chat embedded, their community stays connected, engaged, and retention is increased.

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