*Reactions and Emojis*
Hello! I've released several versions of Heahy over the last few weeks, and now I can say the Reactions and Emojis functionality is fully integrated into the posting form so it's time for an official announcement.
It's not just a simple reaction selector; there are also some nice features to make your posting experience more seamless.
You can now use keyboard shortcuts in the posting form. For example, Alt+E opens the emoji picker and Alt+R opens the reactions picker.
If you type ':', a small emoji picker appears for you to choose from.
If you enter #, the text after it can be added as a tag without separately opening the tag input.
If you copy-paste a link into a post, a dialog appears that allows you to embed that link if it's embeddable (e.g., YouTube, X, or a Heahy image/video post). No need to open the link input anymore!
There were also multiple bug fixes and design improvements. I hope you like these new developments as my backlog is full of ideas, and more stuff is coming, so stay tuned!
*A new version of heahy.com is live!*
No major new features this time, but we’ve fixed a lot of bugs and made several small UI improvements. The biggest changes happened behind the scenes: we completed a major backend refactoring. Because it was such a large update, we experienced some instability in the days following deployment—but things now seem more or less stable.
These backend improvements lay the foundation for significantly better performance and scalability. With this in place, we’re planning to start promoting the site more seriously.
We’ve also made preparatory progress on the Android app - the initial developer version is already working quite well!
*What’s next?*
All development effort is now focused on building the minimal moderation features required for the mobile app to meet app store guidelines.
Channels will soon support policy tags - clear labels set by owners and enforced by moderators—that define content and speech rules. For example, an NSFW channel will carry an NSFW policy tag, and similar tags will indicate speech moderation levels (e.g., “free discussion,” “civility-enforced,” etc.). These tags help set expectations for everyone: owners, moderators, and participants alike.
Once this moderation system is ready, we’ll begin testing the Android app - undoubtedly one of the most important missing pieces right now.
*Early release of a new heahy.com feature*
You can now manage and upload your own reaction library. Just go to the home page and open the Reactions tab.
You can upload reactions for personal use or publish them for everyone. To save space and bandwidth, only MP4/WebM videos are allowed - but if you have a GIF, you can convert it directly in your browser. The same applies to images: only WebP is supported, with built-in conversion available.
You can now manage and upload your own reaction library. Just go to the home page and open the Reactions tab.
You can upload reactions for personal use or publish them for everyone. To save space and bandwidth, only MP4/WebM videos are allowed - but if you have a GIF, you can convert it directly in your browser. The same applies to images: only WebP is supported, with built-in conversion available.
Each reaction can have up to 15 tags and a description to improve search. If you're publishing reactions for others, please use tools like Google Reverse Image Search to add as much context and relevant tags as possible so your content is easy to find.
One reason I built this “last feature” is because I've personally collected a lot of reactions and needed a better way to organize them. Reactions are a core part of internet culture, and having full control over them can be a real advantage. There's also the issue of Tenor potentially shutting down, and the alternatives are either uncertain or not great. Long-term, there's potential for heahy to offer an API and become one of those alternatives.
That said, the reactions feature is still raw and largely untested. I'm releasing it early so people can try it out. Over the next few days, I'll be fixing bugs, filling in missing features, and integrating it into heahy's posting flow. Depending on feedback, an API might follow.
You might also notice a “Tip” button - yes, that's intentional. Supporting content creators is part of the long-term plan, and reactions will likely be one of the first areas to get it. If you publish early, there's a chance it could pay off later.
Anyway, give it a try - upload your own reactions, save favorites, or publish something for everyone to use.
