what is anyonehere fr?

AnyoneHere is a simple one on one chat app built entirely with plain PHP, MySQL, and vanilla JavaScript, without any frameworks or a build step. It lets a user sign up, see who else is currently online, and start a private conversation with them, wrapped in a clean, dark and white interface similar to modern messaging apps. Instead of using web sockets for true real time messaging, AnyoneHere uses short polling: the browser repeatedly checks the server every second or so for new messages, which gives the feel of a live chat without the added complexity of a persistent connection. A heartbeat request every five seconds keeps track of who is currently online, marking a user as offline if no heartbeat arrives within ten seconds. The project describes itself as a good reference for understanding how chat apps work underneath before reaching for more advanced tools like web sockets. Security basics are covered: passwords are hashed and verified using PHP's built in password functions, and every database query uses parameterized statements to avoid SQL injection. Messages older than 24 hours are automatically deleted to keep the database small. The interface is designed to work on both desktop and mobile browsers, including phones with notches. To run it yourself you need PHP 7.4 or later with the mysqli extension, a MySQL or MariaDB database, and any local server setup such as XAMPP, MAMP, or PHP's built in server. Setup involves creating the database from a provided SQL file, copying an example configuration file, filling in your own database credentials, and starting the PHP server. The project includes a live demo you can try without installing anything, and is released under the MIT license.