#349 Tracking: improvements from the November 2026 competitor review

[Anonymous]

Originally created by: kristofferR

Goal

Adopt the improvements picked from the November 2026 review of competing Messenger desktop clients: fMess (toanbku/fmess), Messenger Next (rozsazoltan/messenger), apotenza92/facebook-messenger-desktop, Caprine and its forks, and about 60 smaller wrappers, plus popular Messenger browser extensions.

The review covered their source code, READMEs, issues, PRs and release notes. fMess (MIT) was compared with Chatpane at the source level.

Order

Items are listed in priority order. [#351], [#352], [#353], [#358] and [#362] share one helper for reading Messenger's local database; build it once in [#352] or [#351], whichever lands first.

Correctness and root causes

• [x] [#350] Files dropped onto the window never reach the chat
• [x] [#351] Let Messenger raise its own notifications and key them by message ID
• [x] [#352] Read unread and mute state from Messenger's database instead of the DOM
• [x] [#353] Honor Messenger's account-level Do Not Disturb
• [ ] [#354] Scope what Facebook origins can send to Chatpane (user-content hosts done in [#377]; typed commands remain)
• [ ] [#355] macOS: verify and enable calls in end-to-end encrypted chats

High-demand features

• [x] [#14] Block typing indicator (fMess reference implementation added)
• [x] [#356] Log out, and log out and reset, from the app menu
• [x] [#357] Theme gallery, theme import, OLED black, accent color and font
• [x] [#348] Pause notifications for a set time (now also during calls)
• [x] [#358] Show Messenger's account settings (Active Status, sounds, DND) in Settings
• [x] [#359] Focus the message box when the window regains focus

Polish

• [x] [#360] Probe a second Facebook host when checking connectivity
• [x] [#361] WebKit: pasting a copied image inserts its URL instead of the picture
• [x] [#362] Build the recent-conversations menus from Messenger's database
• [x] [#259] Dot badges, badge-only muted behavior, and notification test controls
• [ ] [#363] Choose the notification sound
• [x] [#364] Split Hide Names & Avatars into separate toggles
• [x] [#365] Windows portable: explain a missing WebView2 runtime

Larger features

• [x] [#366] macOS: communication notifications with sender faces and group pictures
• [x] [#367] Right-click menu for messages with quick reactions
• [x] [#368] Notification actions: react, mark as read, and a group-chat switch
• [x] [#262] Update check frequency and release notes in the update prompt
• [x] [#369] Choose the app icon, including a dark variant
• [ ] [#370] Opt-in recovery of unsent messages, stored encrypted and local
• [x] [#371] Export a conversation to HTML or JSON

Considered and not planned

• Multiple simultaneous accounts and a do-not-disturb schedule: README non-goals.
• Forcing WebKit above 60 fps on ProMotion displays: raises GPU load.
• Theme switching through Messenger's account setting: changes the account everywhere and reopens the settled macOS theme work.
• Blocking "Seen" (#15) and delivery receipts: no competitor has a working technique on facebook.com/messages yet.
• Features from native-protocol clients (translation, local search): they bypass the web client and risk account bans. Spotlight search over chat names from Chatpane's own data is different and tracked in [#445].

Ref [#264].