PolyChat

Changelog

What changed. Newest first. User-facing only.

6 October 2026 — Better mobile calls

• Redesigned conversation calls for phones with a full-screen remote participant, picture-in-picture self preview, compact circular controls, and a focused voice-call layout.
• Improved Android voice-call playback by keeping WebRTC audio media active and showing a clear tap-to-hear control when the device blocks automatic playback.
• Microphone or camera failures now remain on the join screen with visible recovery guidance instead of entering a silent broken call.
• Fixed callers appearing twice by sharing the original peer session with the desktop call window; mobile calls now stay in the app instead of opening an unreliable second window.
• Starting or accepting a conversation call now joins directly without an unnecessary second Join Call step. Video is part of PolyChat Voice, while Meet remains a separate meeting system.
• Rebuilt mobile camera switching for phones that cannot open front and rear cameras simultaneously, with automatic camera recovery if switching fails.
• Leaving a conversation call returns to the chat and correctly ends the shared call when the caller hangs up.
• Fixed blank remote video on Android by combining separately delivered audio and video WebRTC tracks instead of allowing the later audio event to replace the participant’s video stream.
• Gave Meet its own blue/slate conference layout while conversation video calls retain the dark compact messenger-call design.
• Corrected Android launcher artwork to use PolyChat’s red overlapping-chat-bubble icon instead of the incorrectly rendered dark icon.
• Anchored conversation-call controls to the bottom safe area on phones, restored the CC control, and made participant photos and voice tiles consistently circular instead of squircle-shaped.
• Recomposed mobile video around the supplied WhatsApp and Discord references: portrait calls now stack two participant videos vertically in full-width cards, use a dedicated mobile layout class instead of shrinking the desktop grid, and switch to side-by-side only in short landscape mode.

3 October 2026 — Meet reliability audit

• Fixed screen sharing stopping the camera track, so ending a presentation now reliably restores the previous camera instead of leaving a black tile.
• Fixed camera state changes during sharing, complete Mundang/Fulfulde caption language codes, immediate local share controls, fullscreen cleanup, and failed-chat draft recovery.

3 October 2026 — Fullscreen screen sharing

• Screen-share tiles now expose a dedicated Fullscreen control on desktop and mobile, with contained presentation scaling and an iPhone/iPad video-fullscreen fallback.

3 October 2026 — Live, adaptive captions and faster translations

• Added supported-browser interim captions that appear while you are still speaking; finalized browser speech is shared immediately while server transcription remains the cross-browser fallback.
• Added voice-activity detection that submits complete audio after a natural pause, with an approximately 1.8-second maximum window instead of always waiting 2.8 seconds.
• Shortened recorder restart gaps and tightened caption backpressure so stale audio is discarded earlier instead of building visible delay on slow connections.
• Chat and call translations now try the faster conversational model first while retaining the larger quality model as fallback.

2 October 2026 — Flagged language choices

• Added crisp local SVG flags and accessible custom language menus for all 52 chat and interface choices, including Cameroon for Mundang and Cameroonian Fulfulde. Flags now have stable first-paint dimensions while page styles load.

2 October 2026 — Working time-zone settings

• Restored the missing time-zone list in Settings with the server’s full IANA time-zone database.
• Zones now include their current UTC offset and readable region/city names, with a compact fallback list for limited server environments.
• Existing local timestamp previews, 12/24-hour preferences, and saved-zone validation continue to work with the restored choices.

2 October 2026 — Mundang and Cameroonian Fulfulde

• Added Mundang and Cameroonian Fulfulde (Adamawa Fulfulde) as chat and call-language choices, bringing PolyChat translation to 52 languages.
• Added regional translation guidance so Fulfulde follows usage in Cameroon and Mundang is not replaced by a neighboring language.
• Call captions automatically detect speech for these languages because the caption model does not provide dedicated Mundang or Fulfulde recognition codes; translated captions still target the selected language.

2 October 2026 — Clearer conversation loading

• Added a dedicated conversation loading screen while messages are fetched and translated, so an empty-state message no longer appears prematurely.
• Added an honest delayed-loading state with connection and Retry guidance when a conversation request fails.
• Loading states now reset correctly when switching chats and expose their busy status to assistive technology.

2 October 2026 — Clearer conversations

• Improved dark-theme message contrast, original-text legibility, and timestamp readability while preserving PolyChat’s compact messenger layout.
• Refined date separators into quieter conversation breaks and removed redundant outgoing-message avatar dots.
• Updated letter avatars with readable initials and a more natural profile treatment.

2 October 2026 — More natural chat translations

• Upgraded translation quality for conversational and lower-resource languages with a larger primary language model and stronger native-fluency instructions.
• Translations now prioritize intent, tone, speaker perspective, idioms, greetings, wishes, agreement, and natural word order instead of literal English/French phrasing.
• Refreshed the translation cache so older literal results are regenerated. Added specific isiZulu guidance for common greetings and belated-birthday wishes.

2 October 2026 — Live call captions, message dictation, and 50 languages

• Added opt-in server-side live captions to Meet, Voice, and direct conversation calls. Short microphone segments are securely transcribed by PolyChat’s server integration rather than relying on the browser’s built-in speech recognition.
• Added a 50-language call switcher. Captions use the speaker’s selected recognition language and are automatically translated into each participant’s selected call language, with translated captions clearly labelled.
• Reduced server-caption segments from about five seconds to 2.8 seconds and decoupled translation from call synchronization: original captions now appear immediately, then update to the translated text without freezing the call.
• Improved caption consistency with an ordered transcription queue, bounded retries for temporary network/provider failures, cross-segment phrase context, duplicate suppression, silence handling, queue backpressure, and automatic recorder recovery.
• Added editable speech-to-text message dictation beside attachments and voice messages on supported browsers. Dictation follows the account’s chat language and never sends until the user reviews and submits the text.
• Expanded message translation from 22 to 50 languages, adding Bengali, Urdu, Persian, Hebrew, Thai, Malay, Filipino, Romanian, Greek, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Czech, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovak, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Nepali, Amharic, Somali, and Zulu.
• Added right-to-left layout metadata for Urdu, Persian, and Hebrew, plus language-specific speech-recognition locales.

30 September 2026 — Safer private customer projects

• Added a streamlined Crispy Prints customer portal for private messages, translated conversations, project uploads, and finished-file delivery.
• Private group invitations are now controlled by the group owner, preventing ordinary members from granting other people access to the conversation or its files.
• New file identifiers contain substantially more random data, while existing attachments remain compatible.
• Protected file responses are no longer browser-cached, and PDFs and general documents download instead of rendering as active inline content.

30 September 2026 — More reliable calls on restrictive networks

• Added PolyChat’s own TURN relay as a fallback when Meet, Voice, or conversation calls cannot establish a direct WebRTC connection.
• Relay access uses short-lived credentials generated by the server; permanent relay credentials are never embedded in browser JavaScript.
• Existing room links, voice rooms, camera and microphone choices, incoming call prompts, and Join Call banners continue to work as before.

26 September 2026 — Modern messenger interface

• Refined PolyChat into a calmer modern messenger with neutral layered surfaces, clearer hierarchy, balanced spacing, wider desktop navigation, more readable message rows, softer bubbles, and a focused composer.
• Added persistent Dark and Light themes in Settings. Theme choice applies across the chat and account pages, updates browser chrome color, and loads before the stylesheet to avoid a bright or dark flash.
• Improved mobile proportions, sidebar width, touch targets, room headers, sheets, buttons, and profile surfaces while preserving the existing PolyChat red identity.
• Aligned Meet and Voice lobbies with the selected PolyChat theme. Meet now shares the modern neutral surfaces and refined lobby controls, while Voice keeps its distinct blue identity with a purpose-built light appearance.
• Simplified the global header and moved room-specific controls beside the room title, where they remain available on mobile. Controls that do not apply to the current conversation stay out of the way.
• Added a calm empty-conversation state, refined scrollbars, improved long room-title handling, and kept Meet and Voice shortcuts available inside Settings on narrow screens.
• Reworked Settings checkboxes into accessible touch-friendly switches, kept Save reachable while scrolling, and added a consistent keyboard focus ring across links and controls.
• Refined quick and full profiles with a branded cover treatment, elevated avatar, cleaner depth, and theme-aware presentation.
• Grouped consecutive messages from the same person within five minutes, reducing repeated identity chrome while keeping every message and action intact.
• Reduced chat clutter by revealing message actions on hover or keyboard focus, while keeping them visible on touch devices. Reactions, date dividers, unread markers, composer focus, and character-limit feedback were also refined.
• Decluttered the navigation rail by placing server, group, DM, and room creation forms behind compact native disclosure controls. Forms close after a successful action while retaining their existing IDs, validation, and behavior.
• Added a sticky conversation search to quickly filter servers, channels, groups, DMs, rooms, and online users. Press Ctrl+K or Command+K to focus it, and Escape to clear the current search.

26 September 2026 — Clickable profiles

• Avatars, message author names, mentions, and online users now open a profile card instead of immediately forcing a direct message.
• Profile cards show the user’s photo, username, status, and current presence, with clear actions to message, block or unblock, and open a dedicated full profile.
• Profile interactions support keyboard controls, Escape dismissal, outside-click dismissal, mobile layouts, and direct profile links.
• Message sending is now room-safe: switching conversations during an upload or send cannot insert the response, failed text, or attachment state into the wrong room.
• Overlapping manual polls and reconnect attempts now ignore stale responses, preventing older room snapshots from rolling message cursors or connection status backward.
• Message edits commit only once, even when Enter submission and textarea blur happen together.
• Meet and Voice now serialize room synchronization requests instead of allowing slow network polls to overlap, and signaling messages are applied in server order to reduce negotiation races.
• Each conversation now keeps its own in-memory draft while you move between rooms, preventing unfinished text from being lost or appearing in another chat.
• Profile dialogs now trap keyboard focus and restore it to the control that opened the card. The online list also shows clickable profile photos or initials with proper button behavior.
• Leaving a server or private group no longer destroys the entire space when other members remain. Ownership transfers to the longest-standing remaining member; an empty space is still removed.
• Added server, room, group, channel, and invitation creation limits to protect accounts and file-backed storage from accidental loops and automated spam.
• Changing the interface language in Settings now reliably reloads translated interface text after the preference is saved. Settings also expose a proper busy state and cannot be submitted twice while saving.
• Updated the privacy notice to explain exactly which profile fields are visible to other signed-in users.
• Completed a cross-interface regression of the main app, profiles, authentication pages, Meet, Voice, legal pages, assets, and JavaScript syntax.

24 September 2026 — Meet rooms and PolyChat Voice

• Meet rooms were rebuilt around a larger video stage, clearer network and participant information, polished glass controls, improved participant tiles, and better mobile containment.
• PolyChat Voice now has its own interface at /voice. It is audio-first, never requests a camera, uses lightweight circular speaker tiles, and keeps chat, people, raised hands, room invites, and reconnection.
• Voice calls started from a DM or private group now open in the Voice interface; video calls continue opening in Meet.
• Custom media players: Audio and voice messages now use a compact waveform player, while videos use a separate visual player with fullscreen support. Both include branded play/pause, progress, time, and mute controls instead of device-dependent browser controls.
• Reliable media layouts: Attachment players and enlarged previews now stay inside message bubbles and fit narrow phone screens without controls extending off-screen.
• Visible file uploads: The composer now shows the selected file, live upload percentage, a progress bar, and a Processing state. If an upload fails, PolyChat restores the file and message so it can be retried.
• Voice-note detection: Audio-only WebM recordings are correctly recognized as audio—including older voice notes that servers previously mistook for video.
• Call connection repair: Meet and Voice now preserve early network candidates, detect stuck or disconnected peer media, and automatically renegotiate the connection with fresh ICE credentials instead of leaving a black camera tile or silent audio.

9 September 2026 — Reliability and account safety

• A new connection banner explains when PolyChat is offline or reconnecting and includes a manual Retry action.
• Background tabs now make substantially fewer requests, and slow requests no longer pile up over each other.
• Password resets now use a private, single-use email link that expires after 30 minutes. Knowing a username and email is no longer enough to replace a password.
• Errors now include a short reference code when available, making support and diagnosis easier without showing private technical details.
• Reply previews are verified against the original room message so quoted names and text cannot be forged.
• Security, privacy, file-sharing, translation, and call disclosures were updated to match the live service.

5 September 2026 — Meet

• PolyChat Meet is a Zoom-style video call at /meet: camera, mic, screen share, gallery/speaker, and in-call chat. Up to 8 people. If you are signed in, the meeting uses your PolyChat name and photo.
• /meet is only create or join. The call itself opens on its own page at polychat.swift7.net/meet/room/ABC123, so you do not scroll past the lobby. A room link with no code goes back to /meet. A missing or expired room is rejected.
• Phones: larger buttons, a layout that fits small screens, flip camera, and a tap to join so the camera can start on iOS.
• Open it from the Meet button, or go to polychat.swift7.net/meet and use a meeting code.

5 September 2026 — Error pages

• Missing, locked, or broken pages now show a PolyChat screen instead of a blank server error.

5 September 2026 — Pages scroll

• Changelog, Terms, Privacy, and sign-in pages scroll again. The no-scroll lock stays on the chat screen only.

4 September 2026 — Files

• Attach, paste, or drop images, video, audio, PDF, Office docs, zip, and more. Up to 500 MB.
• Tap an image to view it larger. Every file has a download link. Only people in that room can open it.

4 September 2026 — Pings

• Type @username to ping someone. Names highlight, and they get a sound even if they already have the room open.
• A mention paints the bubble in red so it is easy to spot.

4 September 2026 — Light motion

• New messages ease in. Online dots breathe. Typing shows a soft pulse.
• Turns off if your device asks to reduce motion.

4 September 2026 — Top bar

• Invite, Channel, Leave, Mute, Copy invite sit in the top bar. They light up when you are in a server or group.
• Changelog, Terms, and Privacy are in the top bar on computer.

4 September 2026 — Links

• Changelog is linked from Terms, Privacy, and forgot-password, not only sign-in.
• Room action buttons wrap instead of sliding off the screen.

4 September 2026 — Typing

• Typing indicator: When someone is writing in the room you have open, you see “is typing…” above the composer.
• Changelog: This page. Linked from settings, sign-in, and register.

4 September 2026 — Reply, block, mute, invites

• Reply: Quote a message. The quote sits on the bubble.
• Block: Hide someone’s messages. Unblock from Settings.
• Mute: Silence toast, sound, and desktop alerts for a room.
• Invite links: Copy a join link from a server or group. Open /?join=sv… or /?join=g….
• Jump to unread: Skip to the first unread line in the open log.

4 September 2026 — Language, legal, recovery

• 22 languages for chrome and chat translation.
• Terms and Privacy pages.
• Forgot password: this host cannot send email, so you set a new password with the username and email on the account. Google sign-in still works.
• Site dialogs match PolyChat instead of the browser’s stock boxes.

3 September 2026 — Launch

• Light multilingual chat for low-power devices.
• Lounge, rooms, DMs, servers, and groups.
• Username + password or Continue with Google.
• Desktop notifications while the tab stays open.
• File attachments stay off until the site moves to a host with more storage.

Sign in · Terms · Privacy · Swift7