FAQs: Chat FAQs

A single chat message traverses DNS resolution, TLS negotiation, WebSocket framing, server-side fan-out, database persistence, push notification relay, client deserialization, local storage, and UI rendering. Any link in that chain can spike from milliseconds to seconds, and the spikes compound unpredictably. The difference between a chat system that feels instant and one that feels broken

Apps need chat. It used to be that just chat apps needed chat, but chat is now commoditized, a table-stakes feature that lets customers get help, ask questions, and work together without leaving your app. The question isn’t whether to add chat, but how. This build-vs-buy decision sits on a spectrum: On one end, a