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Why chat rooms are making a comeback (and what we kept from the 2000s)
Swipe fatigue is real. Why more people are going back to chat rooms and contact lists — and the early-2000s messenger features we brought back on purpose.
Chatroom · 11 October 2026 · 2 min read
Remember coming home and signing in to see who else was online? The little sound when a friend signed on, the personal message that said more than any profile, the window that shook when someone sent you a nudge?
We do. That's why myQR looks the way it does.
Swiping is efficient. Chat is fun.
Swipe apps are built around profiles: a few photos, a short bio, a quick decision. That works for some things, but it's tiring. You can't find out whether someone is funny from a photo.
Chat rooms work the other way round. You meet people by talking — about music, about the rugby, about the terrible thing that happened at work — and you find the people you click with. The conversation comes first.
What we brought back
We built the members' area to feel like a desktop messenger from the early 2000s, with a few modern manners:
- A contact list split into Online and Offline, with a status for everyone: Online, Busy, Be right back, Away, or Appear offline.
- Personal messages — the one line under your name that says what you're up to.
- Display pictures — from a set of illustrations, not photos of you. (Nobody needs to see your face to talk about music.)
- "Kate says:" conversations, typed emoticons that turn into emoji, and "Kate is typing a message…".
- Nudges that shake the window. Use responsibly.
- Pop-ups when a contact signs in or sends you a message, with optional sounds.
- Rooms for everything from the lobby to gaming, sport, outdoors and every part of the country.
What we didn't bring back
- Strangers adding you. Contacts have to be accepted, and only accepted contacts see your status.
- Spam. Links are blocked in rooms, there's a one-off entry fee, and every message and name has a Report button.
- Surprise content. R18 channels are off for everyone until they choose to switch them on — and photos in private messages need both people to opt in, and the receiver to allow them.
For adults, in New Zealand
myQR is for adults 18 and over, built in New Zealand, and priced at $14.99 once — no subscription. See the rooms, or join here.