Skip to main content
This guide covers the breaking changes in CometChat Android SDK v5 and what you need to update in your app.

​
Dependency Update

Update your build.gradle dependency: 
dependencies {
  implementation "com.cometchat:chat-sdk-android:5.0.0"
}

​
Breaking Changes Overview

SDK v5 removes the Gson dependency from all SDK model classes and changes equals() / hashCode() to structural (deep) equality. All SDK model classes now implement Parcelable.

​
Must Do (will crash without these)

​
Replace Gson deserialization of SDK classes

Gson().fromJson(json, BaseMessage::class.java) no longer works because SDK classes no longer have Gson annotations. Before (v4): 
val message = Gson().fromJson(jsonString, BaseMessage::class.java)
After (v5): 
val message = BaseMessage.processMessage(jsonObject)
For Conversation: Before (v4): 
val conversation = Gson().fromJson(jsonString, Conversation::class.java)
After (v5): Use Parcelable to pass between components, or reconstruct from the SDK’s fetch methods.

​
Replace Gson-based Intent/Bundle passing

All SDK model classes (User, Group, BaseMessage, Conversation, etc.) now implement Parcelable. Use putExtra() / IntentCompat.getParcelableExtra() instead of Gson serialization.

​
User

Before (v4): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra("user", Gson().toJson(user))

// Receiving
val user = Gson().fromJson(intent.getStringExtra("user"), User::class.java)
After (v5): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra(getString(R.string.app_user), user)

// Receiving
val user = IntentCompat.getParcelableExtra(intent, getString(R.string.app_user), User::class.java)

​
BaseMessage

Before (v4): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra("message", Gson().toJson(baseMessage))

// Receiving
val message = Gson().fromJson(intent.getStringExtra("message"), BaseMessage::class.java)
After (v5): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra(getString(R.string.app_message), baseMessage)

// Receiving
val message = IntentCompat.getParcelableExtra(intent, getString(R.string.app_message), BaseMessage::class.java)

​
Group

Before (v4): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra("group", Gson().toJson(group))

// Receiving
val group = Gson().fromJson(intent.getStringExtra("group"), Group::class.java)
After (v5): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra(getString(R.string.app_group), group)

// Receiving
val group = IntentCompat.getParcelableExtra(intent, getString(R.string.app_group), Group::class.java)

​
Conversation

Before (v4): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra("conversation", Gson().toJson(conversation))

// Receiving
val conversation = Gson().fromJson(intent.getStringExtra("conversation"), Conversation::class.java)
After (v5): 
// Sending
intent.putExtra(getString(R.string.app_conversation), conversation)

// Receiving
val conversation = IntentCompat.getParcelableExtra(intent, getString(R.string.app_conversation), Conversation::class.java)
This pattern applies to all SDK model classes — Call, Action, MediaMessage, TextMessage, CustomMessage, etc. They all implement Parcelable in v5.

​
Replace Gson clone hacks

Before (v4): 
val clone = Gson().fromJson(Gson().toJson(original), User::class.java)
After (v5): 
val clone = original.clone()

​
Must Do (will cause silent bugs without these)

​
Update DiffUtil comparisons

equals() now does deep structural comparison. Using it in areItemsTheSame() will cause incorrect diff results. Before (v4): 
override fun areItemsTheSame(oldItem: User, newItem: User): Boolean {
    return oldItem == newItem // worked because equals() compared by UID
}
After (v5): 
override fun areItemsTheSame(oldItem: User, newItem: User): Boolean {
    return oldItem.uid == newItem.uid // explicit ID comparison
}

​
Replace list contains/remove with ID-based operations

Before (v4): 
if (userList.contains(user)) { ... }
userList.remove(user)
After (v5): 
if (userList.any { it.uid == user.uid }) { ... }
userList.removeAll { it.uid == user.uid }

​
Stop using SDK objects as HashMap/HashSet keys

Before (v4): 
val map = HashMap<User, SomeData>()
map[user] = data
After (v5): 
val map = HashMap<String, SomeData>() // use UID as key
map[user.uid] = data

​
Add ProGuard keep rules

Add the following to your proguard-rules.pro: 
-keep class com.cometchat.** { *; }
-keepclassmembers class com.cometchat.** {
    public boolean contentEquals(**);
}

​
Should Review

These won’t crash but may cause unexpected behavior if your code relied on the old identity-based equality:
  • Any code that relied on user1.equals(user2) meaning “same user” — it now means “identical in every field”
  • Any code that relied on message1.equals(message2) meaning “same message” — it now means “identical in every field including read receipts, reactions, etc.”
  • Any code comparing Conversations via equals() — now does recursive deep comparison of lastMessage and conversationWith

​
Safe — No Changes Needed

These patterns continue to work without modification:
  • Gson usage for your own custom DTOs (not SDK classes)
  • User.fromJson(), Group.fromJson(), BaseMessage.processMessage() — these SDK methods still work
  • user.toJson(), group.toMap() — these SDK serialization methods still work