Disable chatting function

Is there anyway to remove the chatting function? Preferably without removing commands but this is not necessary. What I've tried:

Using shaders: This worked well but Mojang changed the z-index so this now also removes other text
Removing the default font (making it all whitespace): this sadly enough also removed key binds, languages and numbers...
Spamming the chat with whitespace characters: This is not optimal, causes lag, the messages are still briefly visible, and the annoying background is still there