small improvements ideas on databag

[torik988]

Improvement Suggestions for Databag

Hello,

First of all, thank you for this project, which I find very interesting and promising.
I had used Databag some time ago, but back then I found it a bit complex to set up, especially due to hosting requirements and not having a homelab.
Now, with a functioning homelab and particularly in the context of recent European announcements about potential backdoors in messaging apps, I am revisiting Databag with great interest.

Here are some feature ideas and improvements that could enhance the experience:

Proposed Improvements

• Upload and Download Progress: It would be useful to not only have a progress bar but also having indicator when sending files, like a percentage or an eta.
• Similarly, when downloading a file, showing more details (size, estimated time, progress) would be helpful.

• Web Interface Customization: Allow administrators to customize
  the web interface CSS directly from the admin settings to adapt the
  server appearance to their preferences (this would be more difficult
  for mobile apps).

• Voice Messages: add an option to send voice messages in subject, just as files but directly integrated.

• Simplified File Attachment: Instead of having to choose between "attach image", "attach video", "attach audio", offer a single option "Attach Document" and let the system automatically determine the type and preview. This would make the interface clearer.

• Emojis and GIFs: Add the ability to insert emojis and GIFs in
  messages. For GIFs, the Tenor API could be used to easily search and include animated GIFs.

Conclusion

Thank you again for this project, which provides a privacy-respecting
alternative.
These suggestions are just ideas to make the experience smoother and
more enjoyable.
In any case, I am glad to see Databag continuing to evolve!

[balzack]

Thank you for the suggestions and thank you for using the project! I agree that all of them would be a nice addition to the app and will add them to the backlog.

For the web interface customization, do you mean having a config file exposed, where someone could choose different colors and sizes, or something more sophisticated for layout. I can envision the former, but the latter seems much harder.

[torik988]

I was actually thinking more of a custom file, like a CSS one, where an admin could adjust things such as size, position, and colors. That way the layout remains the same, but the appearance can be tweaked as needed.

[Vin-svg]

Hello there ! I am adding here other ideas to enhance even more the user experience (from my point of view):

Reply to Messages: Implement a reply feature, where a user can directly reference a previous message in their response. This would improve clarity in group conversations and make discussions more structured.

It would be nice to be able to add some reactions to messages to improve communication

Account quotas: This would enable the user to see his storage quota, along with a menu to delete his media, in case his quotas is full.

The ability to send a photo or a video taken directly from the app instead of opening the file app

Modify the quality of medias : With three levels, Lossless, Normal and bad quality (to save data on a mobile plan),

**In a subject where there's only 2 users we can consider it an MP and add two buttons : one for an audio call and the other for a video call

The ability to switch both cameras (back and front) during the calls

Add a screenshare fonction and Picture in Picture to be able to see the caller video when you are in other apps

A 'Ghost' button protected by a password wich autodestruct all of your activity (messages, medias, AND account)

[balzack]

Hello, thank you for the suggestions. They are all good ideas and added to my backlog. Below are comments on roughly when I hope to add them to the project.

Reply to Messages & Reactions are planned, but still several months out.

Account quotas: currently there are account quotas in the admin dashboard, but I agree, this should be visible to the user. It should be easy to add in the reply/reaction release

Send photo video directly: Agreed, this will be an improvement. I think the media picker library I use supports this, so should be also easy.

Modify the media quality: I am not sure how to accomplish this with the e2ee topics, but the non-e2ee topics already have support for this in the backend. How do you think this should work in the UI? Should there be a settings value, that specifies which quality to use when showing the media?

2 user topic with call buttons: Technically this would be easy to do, but I struggle with the UI. I will play around with the design and see if I can come up with something.

Use both cameras during call: I will investigate if the calling library I use supports this. If so it should also be an easy add.

Add screenshare and picture in picture: I will have to research this. I agree with the value, just not sure how hard it will be to implement.

Ghost button: currently there is a delete button in settings. This will delete all messages, media, and account. Is this what you are referring to?

[torik988]

As you mentioned in your reply, I do also agree on the fact that there should be a way to adjust the picture quality before uploading. This would mean that the client used to send the image would first downscale and compress it before encrypting and uploading it.

I also think it would be nice if we could continue sending messages while a file is being uploaded. Large files often take time, and this can block the flow of conversation. Does an asynchronous upload could solve this issue.

From a UI perspective, it could be handled with a button when uploading a picture, showing a “low data” icon (with high quality being the default). A good example would be the HD toggle in WhatsApp :

Regarding the "ghost" button, I can see the "delete account" button in the Android app, but not in the web app, so that might be what he was referring to.

Personally, the main thing preventing me from using Databag as my daily driver secured chatting app is the lack of reply and emoji reactions. These have become such a common way of communicating for me that it’s really hard to chat without them.

[balzack]

Your message is very encouraging. I know it can work as a daily chat app, but to be the choice when it comes to usability, reliability, support, etc. is a very high bar....so thank you. Hopefully the reply and reaction features will be in soon.

image quality comment: I think you are right, there should be client support for downscaling images and videos before upload. I will spend some time researching what libraries provide this.

background upload comment: I think this works, although I see an issue. If I try and post video and immediately back out, the video send completes in the background. I do see an issue where I return to the thread the video is not cleared from the new message area.

ghost button: I see what you are referring to and will add the delete option to the webclient as well.

Thanks for your comments!