Design a Real-Time Chat System

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Quick Overview

This system design question tests a candidate's ability to architect a scalable real-time messaging platform, focusing on transport protocol selection and the trade-offs between live delivery and durable offline catch-up. It evaluates practical knowledge of distributed systems concepts including WebSocket vs. polling strategies, stateful connection management, and message persistence at scale.

Design a Real-Time Chat System

Company: Uber

Role: Software Engineer

Category: System Design

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Onsite

Overview: This system design question tests a candidate's ability to architect a scalable real-time messaging platform, focusing on transport protocol selection and the trade-offs between live delivery and durable offline catch-up. It evaluates practical knowledge of distributed systems concepts including WebSocket vs. polling strategies, stateful connection management, and message persistence at scale.

Read the full Uber Software Engineer interview experience this question came from

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Uber
Jun 19, 2026
mediumSoftware EngineerOnsiteSystem Design
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