I've discovered SpaceHey's hidden icons: spoiler for a possible future SpaceHey update

This image is a spoiler of what we are going to talk about today, it is just to get your attention 

Today, I want to share an investigation that started as a simple quest for inspiration to design a chatbot icon and turned into a deep dive into SpaceHey's pixel art aesthetics. This social network, known for its nostalgic 2000s vibe, uses retro 16x16-pixel icons that not only serve their purpose but also tell a visual story.  

As I dug deeper, I noticed an intriguing pattern: the URLs for the icons followed a fixed structure. For example, the help icon can be found at `https://static.spacehey.net/icons/help.png`. By replacing "help" with words like "add," "bell," or "volume," I discovered a whopping 99 unique icons. Among them, I found some rarities, like a keyboard icon, a money icon, and even variations with "_add" and "_delete" suffixes. To illustrate this, here's an image comparing the icons `bell.png`, `bell_add.png`, and `bell_delete.png`. These might be used in the future to manage notifications more intuitively. 

The Hidden Flags of SpaceHey

During my exploration, I stumbled upon a fascinating detail: colored flags. The "flag_red.png" icon is currently used for reporting users, but by changing "red" to other colors like "blue," "green," or "yellow," I uncovered an entire collection of colorful flags. It made me wonder about their purpose, especially considering there’s already an unused "report.png" icon. You can see all the flags I discovered in the following image:  

Icon Comparison: From 16x16 to 32x32

The most exciting discovery came when I found a second generation of icons. Using URLs like `https://static.spacehey.net/icons2/information.png`, I found redesigned, higher-quality versions (32x32 pixels). These new icons feature more details and vibrant colors, though not all changes are improvements. For instance, the "status_online.png" icon, which previously had a nostalgic MSN Messenger vibe, now feels more generic.  

I’ve prepared a visual comparison so you can see how the old 16x16 icons have evolved into the new 32x32 versions. Some, like the "image.png" icon, look better with warmer tones and a Frutiger Aero-style aesthetic. Others, like the "status_online.png" icon, have lost some of their retro charm. Check out the comparison here:  

The Missing Colored Flags in Version 2

Interestingly, while most of the icons have a redesigned version in the new 32x32 format, the colored flags seem to be an exception. These seven icons, representing flags in various colors like red, blue, green, and yellow, don’t appear to have a higher-resolution counterpart. This could mean that SpaceHey might replace them entirely in favor of the unused "report.png" icon, which could serve as the new standard for reporting users.  

Unfortunately, this might signal the end of the colorful flags, as their absence in the updated collection suggests they won't be part of future updates. It's a bit disappointing as these flags were pretty, each with a different color, although they were never used anyway, only the red flag was used for reporting.

The Unused Icons 

I also discovered several icons that don’t seem to be in use. These little gems spark my imagination about their potential future applications. For example, the sound icon could be used to mute profiles that autoplay music, while the key icon could enable private access to groups or profiles. Here’s an image of these unused icons, along with their actual filenames:  

1. key.png  
2. phone.png  
3. pill.png  
4. report.png  
5. eye.png  
6. book.png  
7. money.png  
8. sound.png  
9. page.png  

Conclusion: What’s Coming to SpaceHey?

My conclusion is that these icons are not there by accident. They’re likely part of future updates and will gradually replace the old ones to avoid a sudden visual shift. Some redesigns, like the bell and the add/delete icons, are exciting since they could introduce more visual and dynamic functions to the platform.  

Although SpaceHey is rooted in nostalgia, I’d love to see more icons integrated into buttons and sections, as they’ve recently done in forums and layouts. This investigation was a fascinating journey! If you enjoyed it, don’t forget to give me kudos, and I hope we’ll see these icons in action soon.