Messenger IRC Theme

An IRC inspired theme for Facebook Messenger's web application.

Links

Chrome Web Store | Git Source

Tools

JavaScript (ES6), SASS, Gulp, Git, Chrome Platform APIs

Context

This Chrome extension transforms the look and feel of the Facebook Messenger web application into something reminiscent to that of a traditional IRC client. The intent of this extension was to bring the focus of Facebook Messenger back to its roots (i.e being primarily a messaging client) while retaining the full functionality of the platform. Notable changes to the overall UI and UX of the client include:

  • Applying a dark, minimal theme inspired by IRC clients
  • Moving all messages to the left-hand side of the screen
  • Modifying image previews to be less intrusive and flow better in the conversation feed
  • Removing profile pictures from the conversation feed to reduce clutter
  • Users can choose between displaying the conversation participants' names or replacing them with a ">" indicator for their messages and a "+" indicator for messages from the person/people they are chatting with

Inspiration

Who doesn’t love a good dark mode? This Chrome extension brings a much needed dark theme to Facebook Messenger, not only to make it easier on the eyes, but also to reduce the in-app clutter that adds unnecessary noise to the core messaging experience.

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