diff --git a/bitchat/Views/ContentView.swift b/bitchat/Views/ContentView.swift
index 6366f015..ab0d72ff 100644
--- a/bitchat/Views/ContentView.swift
+++ b/bitchat/Views/ContentView.swift
@@ -377,27 +377,12 @@ struct ContentView: View {
             }
             
             HStack(alignment: .center, spacing: 4) {
-            if viewModel.selectedPrivateChatPeer != nil {
-                Text("<@\(viewModel.nickname)> →")
-                    .font(.system(size: 12, weight: .medium, design: .monospaced))
-                    .foregroundColor(Color.orange)
-                    .lineLimit(1)
-                    .fixedSize()
-                    .padding(.leading, 12)
-            } else {
-                Text("<@\(viewModel.nickname)>")
-                    .font(.system(size: 12, weight: .medium, design: .monospaced))
-                    .foregroundColor(textColor)
-                    .lineLimit(1)
-                    .fixedSize()
-                    .padding(.leading, 12)
-            }
-            
-            TextField("", text: $messageText)
+            TextField("type a message...", text: $messageText)
                 .textFieldStyle(.plain)
                 .font(.system(size: 14, design: .monospaced))
                 .foregroundColor(textColor)
                 .focused($isTextFieldFocused)
+                .padding(.leading, 12)
                 .onChange(of: messageText) { newValue in
                     // Get cursor position (approximate - end of text for now)
                     let cursorPosition = newValue.count