Discover & Organize — Link Previews and In-Chat Text Search
Never click a mystery link again. Never lose a message in the void.
Link Previews: See Before You Click
We've all been there — someone shares a link in chat, and you're left guessing: is it a funny article, a shopping page, a video, or... something you'd rather not open at work? Birbli solves this elegantly with automated link previews.
When someone shares a URL in your conversation, Birbli automatically fetches the page's metadata — the title, description, and featured image — and renders a beautiful preview card right in the chat. See the headline and thumbnail before ever leaving the app. It's the same experience you know from major messaging platforms, now in your end-to-end encrypted messenger.
Here's how link previews work under the hood:
- Automatic detection: When a message contains a URL, Birbli identifies it and prepares to fetch its preview metadata
- OG tag extraction: Birbli pulls Open Graph and meta tags from the target page, including title, description, and image URLs
- E-commerce awareness: For shopping links (like Amazon), Birbli intelligently selects the highest-resolution product image
- Fallback handling: If no image is available, Birbli gracefully shows the title and description without one
- Cache-aware: Once fetched, link previews are stored locally so they display instantly even offline
Privacy-first: Link previews are fully user-controlled. Head to your Profile settings and toggle "Show Link Previews" on or off. When disabled, URLs are shared as plain text — no metadata is fetched, no requests are made. Your privacy, your choice.
In-Chat Text Search: Find Anything, Instantly
Let's be honest — the most frustrating part of any messaging app isn't sending messages. It's finding that one message from three weeks ago where your friend shared the restaurant address, the WiFi password, or that hilarious inside joke.
Birbli makes conversation search dead simple. Tap the search icon in any conversation header, and a search bar slides into view. Start typing and Birbli searches through all messages in that conversation in real time.
Here's what makes Birbli's search experience exceptional:
- Instant results: As you type, results update in real time — no pressing "Enter," no loading spinners
- Context-aware highlighting: Matching text is highlighted directly in the message bubbles so you can see the context at a glance
- Rich text aware: Search works across formatted content — it finds matches in bold, italic, code, and spoiler text alike
- Local search: All searching happens on your device. No queries are sent to external servers, preserving your end-to-end encryption
- Case-insensitive: Search "restaurant" and you'll find "Restaurant", "RESTAURANT", and "rEsTaUrAnT" without needing to worry about capitalization
Why this matters for power users: If you use Birbli for professional consultations, client communication, or simply have a high-volume chat life, search is non-negotiable. Finding that one message with the meeting time, booking reference, or agreed-upon price should feel effortless. With Birbli, it does.
How to Get Started
Link Previews: Enable them from your Profile settings by toggling "Show Link Previews." Once on, every shared URL will automatically display its preview card. Toggle off anytime for a clean, link-only experience.
Text Search: Open any conversation, tap the magnifying glass icon in the header, and start typing. It works out of the box — no setup required.
Together, link previews and text search transform Birbli from a simple messaging app into a fully organized communication hub. Share links with confidence, find anything in seconds, and never wonder "where did that message go?" again.
Take control of your conversations. Download Birbli today and never lose a message again.