Building a Real-Time Chat App with React Native, Firebase & Expo 🚀

#reactnative #opensource #mobile #javascript

I recently updated my React Native chat app, powered by Expo and Firebase. The app supports:

Direct and group messaging
Sending images and videos
Local notifications
Notes-to-self

The architecture uses React Contexts for authentication and unread message management, FlatLists for smooth performance, and centralized services for chat operations. This keeps the app scalable, modular, and easy to maintain.

⚡ Technology highlight: While messages are securely stored in Firebase now, I plan to implement end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in the future, ensuring only the sender and recipient can read messages.

The project was a great exercise in mobile app architecture, real-time data handling, and modern React Native development.

Check it out on GitHub: React Native Chat

💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback! Feel free to share your suggestions or experiences with similar projects.