I build a small messenger and I'd like opinions, not installs. Disclosure up front: I'm the developer of FlickerTalk (Android, AGPL-3.0, no account, no phone number). Limits first, since this is a privacy community: it only works when the other person has it; 1:1 and small circles, no large groups; on a direct connection the other phone can see your public IP; Google delivers the wake-up push and sees that one arrived, not what it says.

The design decision I keep second-guessing: instead of adding features to the messenger, I put them in an "Apps" tab as small sandboxed web packages you open inside a conversation. Each tool sees only what you hand it, and nothing leaves the phone until you tap send. Today: a document scanner, signing a PDF together, a shared list, split expenses, a poll, a whiteboard during calls, a few two-player games.

Questions for people who think about this more than I do:

1. Is "tools inside the chat" a privacy win (less data sent to third-party apps) or a bigger attack surface, in your view?
2. Which everyday task would you actually want to do without leaving a conversation?
3. What should a messenger refuse to bundle, no matter how convenient?

I'll answer every reply and I'm fine with "none of this, keep it simple" as an answer.