The new Lagos Life chat, built for the phone

What players struggled with

Today's chat works, but it fights the player on a small screen.

• Chats were buried. A banner, a requests row and two search boxes pushed the first conversation more than halfway down the screen.
• Unread was hard to clear. Marking everything read was hidden behind an unlabelled "…", and the unread count changed from one place to the next.
• New chats felt pushy. A first message to a stranger opened with "Start a streak 🔥 0".
• Messages had little room. The chat header took over a third of the screen, leaving space for one message once the keyboard was up.
• One tap could delete 123 chats, with no confirm.

See it on the phone →

The new inbox

Chats come first. Above them sit only a title, the bell, one search box and three filters: All, Unread and Requests.

Swipe a chat right to mark it read, or left to mute or delete it. One tap marks everything read, with Undo. Quiet chats are cleared in one step, after a confirm.

For players

They reach their friends faster and clear the noise in a second.

For Lagos Life

A calm inbox people open more often, with requests kept apart from friends.

See it on the phone →

Conversations that feel alive

Streaks are earned: the 🔥 appears once two friends have done something together three days in a row. Accepting a request plays a short connection moment.

A house invite arrives as a map card with the place pinned, plus Accept and Get directions.

For players

Chats feel personal, not pushy.

For Lagos Life

More reasons to talk every day, and invites that turn into visits in the city.

See it on the phone →

Money in chat

Send money opens a keypad. Under ₦50,000, players hold the button to send. From ₦50,000 up, they enter a PIN.

Every payment lands in the chat as a Lagos Life Pay slip. Tap it for the full receipt.

For players

Quick for small amounts, safe for big ones, with a receipt they can trust.

For Lagos Life

More money moving between players, right inside the conversation.

See it on the phone →

Everything you can do with a friend

In any chat, the + beside the message field opens a grid styled like the city, right under the thumb: Send money, Buy food, Invite, Request money, Hire them, Their companies, Ask to be my Bae and Add as family. Voice notes are one tap on the green mic, and Mute, Block and Report sit behind ⓘ at the top.

For players

One place for everything, read at a glance.

For Lagos Life

Every chat becomes a way into the game's economy and relationships.

See it on the phone →

Updates worth opening

The first time the bell is opened each session, it plays a short daily recap: what their businesses earned, then the live election with a countdown, +50 XP and Vote now.

Later opens fold the recap into one line. Announcements live here now, not on top of the inbox.

For players

A reason to check in daily that feels like a reward.

For Lagos Life

Daily return visits, and events like the election get seen.

See it on the phone →

Motion and feel

Screens move like an iPhone app: they slide in, and a swipe from the edge goes back. Sheets rise smoothly and every tap answers at once.

The big moments are saved for connecting with someone and sending money: accept a request on the phone to see one. When a phone is set to reduce motion, the chat stays still.

For players

The game's phone feels like a real phone.

For Lagos Life

A premium feel that matches the world around it.

See it on the phone →

Ready for the next step

The full design is in Figma: 42 screens in Light and Night, built from a new Chat & messaging category in Lagos Life's Design System A, ready to hand to the developers.

Open the designs in Figma ↗