Implementing chat in a SaaS sounds simple until messages stop being just text. This article documents how we integrated Twilio Conversations with React to build a collaboration system where users shared and discussed digital assets in real time — and the lessons it left behind.

How we designed a client-side facial detection architecture with face-api.js and backend identity verification with Luxand FaceSDK for a SaaS that needed to protect document privacy in real time. A real case study with cost decisions, lessons learned, and a look at the ecosystem in 2026.