Tereveni

Context & market

Most people use Telegram‑like messengers for everything — from news and hobbies to emotional support. Large, anonymous group chats are noisy, hard to follow, and often feel unsafe and impersonal.

A survey of 100+ respondents showed that chats are used to find like‑minded people, meet new friends, discuss current events, kill boredom, and get support. At the same time, people struggle with chaos in large chats, toxic behaviour, notification overload, and losing important information in the stream.

Problem

1. ‎Crowded, anonymous group chats

   Project teams change frequently: subcontractors rotate, responsibilities shift, people move to other projects. The platform did not reflect these changes quickly, so:

   • tasks remained assigned to the wrong people,

   • notifications went to inactive team members,

   • no one trusted the “team” section as a source of truth.

Problem

1. ‎Interest‑based rooms

   Tereveni curates rooms around each person’s interests so they land in relevant, “for me” spaces instead of random, mixed‑topic groups.

   
   

2. ‎Built‑in safety

   Every room has clear rules, and from any message or profile users can quickly report, block, or ban, keeping control close to everyday interactions.

   
   

3. ‎Evening‑first UI

   Every room has clear rules, and from any message or profile users can quickly report, block, or ban, keeping control close to everyday interactions.

   
   

4. ‎Flexible notifications

   Per‑room notification settings let people stay members of chats without constant pings, returning when they actually have time and energy.

   
   

   
   

Key product challenges

1. Help people quickly discover personally relevant rooms

2. Make safety and control simple and always within reach

3. Design a comfortable experience

4. Reduce notification pressure without killing engagement

5. Keep the interface familiar enough for messaging habits

   
   

Research setup

1. User interviews

   User interviews will be conducted until we collect enough core insights about who uses chats, when they use them, why they join, and what frustrates them.

   
   

2. Find patterns

   Analysis of usage patterns (time of day, types of chats) and open‑ended answers about pain points in large and anonymous groups.

   
   

Insights

1. Chats behave like social spaces

   People join chats to find like‑minded people, talk about shared interests, meet new friends, and get emotional support — not just to replace messengers.

   
   

2. Evening is the primary chat time

   Over 90% reported using chats in the evening, when they are tired and already overloaded with information. Bright, busy interfaces add fatigue instead of helping people relax.

   
   

3. Large general chats feel chaotic and impersonal

   Messages move too fast, topics mix, and important content disappears. It’s hard to find “your people” in big, mixed groups, even if the overall topic seems relevant.

   
   

4. Anonymous, unmoderated spaces feel unsafe

   Respondents mentioned rudeness, spam, scams, and unwanted content. People want clear rules, visible moderation, and quick ways to control who can interact with them.

   
   

5. Chats behave like social spaces

   People join chats to find like‑minded people, talk about shared interests, meet new friends, and get emotional support — not just to replace messengers.

   
   

6. Evening is the primary chat time

   Over 90% reported using chats in the evening, when they are tired and already overloaded with information. Bright, busy interfaces add fatigue instead of helping people relax.

   
   

7. Notifications create constant pressure

   Unread counters and frequent pings make people feel guilty about not keeping up, but they still want to remain in useful chats. There is a gap between “being a member” and “being constantly disturbed”.

   
   

8. Valuable content gets lost in history

   Answers, links, and resources quickly sink in the scroll. Users need better ways to pin, search, and return to what matters without bookmarking dozens of messages manuall.

   
   

Solutions

Onboarding for personal relevance

Onboarding collects people’s interests and topics upfront, so from day one Discovery and room suggestions feel tailored instead of generic.

List of chats that matches real life

The chat list brings together public rooms and private messages in a clear, calm layout, with states like muted, unread, and active, so people see their real conversation landscape rather than just a chaotic stack of groups.

Admin chat settings for safe spaces

Each room has dedicated admin settings where hosts control access, rules, pinned content, and moderation actions, making it easy to keep spaces safe, on‑topic, and aligned with expectations.

Branding & visual language

Evening‑first palette

I turned onboarding into a sequence of small, themed steps instead of one long form, so users always knew what this step is about and roughly how much is left.

Inclusive visual tone

The overall design stays simple, readable, and neutral so it works for a wide age range — from younger users used to modern apps to older users who prefer straightforward, familiar layouts. Clear typography and restrained visuals help everyone understand what’s happening without extra cognitive load.

Key features

Discovery

Explore rooms through For you, Popular, Hot, and Hashtags tabs depending on whether you want personal, stable, or trending conversations.

Create chat room

Hosts set topic, description, tags, and access level upfront so new rooms are discoverable and expectations are clear.

Public chat room

Inside a room, people see the topic, rules, pinned messages, and the live chat, with all essential actions at hand — from replies and reactions to reporting and blocking.

Impact

82% of users completed onboarding and selected interests, up from 61% before the new flow.

70% of joined rooms came via the Discovery page, up from 47% with the previous navigation.

61% of in-app time was spent in interest-based rooms, up from about 39% before the update.

58% of users adjusted notifications for at least 1 room, up from 33% previously.

41% of users returned to Tereveni at least once in the first week, up from 24% before the changes.