Ask HN: Why is the sender chat box always on the right?
3bdhe45/7/2025, 9:45:46 PM
When did this UX convention develop and why? I think this is also true across languages like Arabic and Hebrew whose script runs right-to-left.
Comments (4)
sprobertson · 10h ago
As far as I can tell the left & right bubbles UI was first seen on (or at least first popularized by) the SMS app on the original iPhone in 2007.
As another commenter suggested it seems the point was to associate it with the placement of the right-side enter button, as the message would animate up and to the right.
anigbrowl · 11h ago
Because most people are right-handed so it's a good place to get their attention.
iforgotpassword · 11h ago
Might be the same reason why the mouse pointer comes from bottom-right.
Another guess would be because that's where the enter key/send button is, so you can kinda see the message as coming from there...
sherdil2022 · 8h ago
In RTL languages, it is flipped. And to answer your question, it is more about what feels intuitive, readable, and consistent with user expectations.
For languages that read left to right, placing your messages on the right creates a natural conversation flow — incoming on the left, outgoing on the right.
And consistency - it's a widespread design convention (used by apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Facebook Messenger), which builds user familiarity and reduces confusion.
As another commenter suggested it seems the point was to associate it with the placement of the right-side enter button, as the message would animate up and to the right.
Another guess would be because that's where the enter key/send button is, so you can kinda see the message as coming from there...
For languages that read left to right, placing your messages on the right creates a natural conversation flow — incoming on the left, outgoing on the right.
And consistency - it's a widespread design convention (used by apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Facebook Messenger), which builds user familiarity and reduces confusion.