SIDEY
Overlay Messenger
SIDEY gives you a desktop overlay messenger for small circles of close friends, with pixel characters showing their presence and short messages on your Mac.
by TaeHyun Ryu
What you get
Keep your close friends in view without opening a group chat.
With SIDEY, you can keep casual conversations with close friends visible on your Mac instead of repeatedly opening a group chat. Each friend appears as a pixel character, so you can notice when they are around, typing in SIDEY, or sending a short message. You can create or join up to five private groups, each with up to twelve people, and send a photo alongside your text.
You can keep using the app behind the overlay because clicks normally pass through it. When you want to reply or manage a group, you switch to interaction mode. This gives you a way to exchange quick updates while leaving your main app accessible.
You get short-lived conversations rather than a permanent archive: messages have a three-day retention period, and photo access expires after three days, though actual deletion may happen later. Photos you send have location and camera metadata removed before upload and are accessible only to current group members.
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Notice friends at a glance
You can see presence, SIDEY typing activity, and short messages through pixel characters on your desktop.
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Keep your current app accessible
Your clicks normally pass through the overlay; you switch modes when you want to interact with SIDEY.
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Keep conversations small
You can create or join up to five private groups, with up to twelve people in each.
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Share photos without location metadata
You can send photos with your text, with location and camera metadata removed before upload.
Best for
- You want casual check-ins with a small circle of friends
- You prefer seeing short messages alongside your current app
- You want conversations with limited retention
Skip it if
You don't need SIDEY if you want large group chats or a lasting message archive.
Screenshots
From the developer
SIDEY is a desktop overlay messenger for private groups of up to twelve close friends. Each friend appears as a pixel character on your Mac, so you can notice when they are around, typing, or sending a short message without opening a busy group chat. You can also choose a photo to send with your text.Read the full description
Alternatives to SIDEY
Other apps to use messengers on Mac. See all
