AstroTalky Case Study

AstroTalky is a real-time spiritual consulting mobile app where users connect with online coaches for instant voice, video, or chat readings.

The Bottleneck: Under high traffic surges, WebSocket connection channels crashed. Stripe payments took up to 10 seconds to validate, resulting in user connection dropouts.

Target Audits: We analyzed network logs and determined that holding client socket states directly in Node.js heap memory caused thread crashes. We needed an external broker to handle concurrent queues.

Wireframing & Prototypes: We wireframed a clean mobile consultation screen containing a timer countdown, a secure message tray, and quick checkout buttons.

Visual Design: Designed with a purple and dark slate theme, utilizing smooth slide animations, clean chat bubbles, and instant loading skeleton blocks.

Engineering Logic: We built the mobile app in React Native (Expo) and the backend in Node.js. Sockets are handled via a Redis Pub/Sub network, and checkouts are managed via direct Stripe SDK integration.

Core Engineering Challenge: Maintaining socket continuity when users switch networks (e.g. from Wi-Fi to cellular data). Resolved by implementing auto-reconnect backoff loops with temporary chat log storage.