How Canva Scaled Real-Time Collaboration with WebRTC: From WebSockets to Seamless P2P Communication

A very high level architecture diagram depicting the transition from a backend-based solution to WebRTC

Canva recently shared how it implemented real-time mouse pointers for collaborative whiteboarding. Canva chose a WebRTC-based solution to improve scalability, reduce latency, and lower backend load. Since WebRTC uses peer-to-peer communication, Canva can provide users with a smoother, more performant real-time experience than a traditional backend-based WebSocket and Redis solution.

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