Messages and calls

Chat one-to-one or in groups, send photos, GIFs and voice notes, react, forward and pin, call a member, and block someone.

Messages is the private chat inside your community. Members talk one-to-one or in groups, send photos, videos, GIFs and voice notes, and call each other by voice or video.

Open it from the Messages icon in the top bar: it shows your latest Chats, and View all opens the full Messages page. On a phone, Messages is in the bottom menu. Approved members can use it; visitors and people waiting for approval can't.

Starting a conversation

1. On the Messages page, select the pen icon (New chat) and choose New message.
2. Type a name in Search members and pick the person.

You can also select Chat on a member's card in the member directory.

Creating a group

1. Select the pen icon (New chat) and choose New group.
2. Search for members in Search members and tick everyone you want in the group. Select Next.
3. Optionally add a photo, then enter a Group Name.
4. Select Create Group. The group opens, with you as its admin.

To add more people later, the group's admin selects Add people at the top of the chat, ticks the members and selects Add Selected. Community admins can also rename a group they created, change its photo (the pencil next to its name) and remove members.

Sending messages

Type in Type a message… and press Enter or select send. Besides text you can send:

What	How
Photo or video	Select + → Photo or video and pick a file.
GIF	Select + → GIF and search for one.
Emoji	Select the emoji button next to the text box.
Voice note	Hold the microphone button to record, release to send. Slide up to lock the recording, slide left to cancel.
Video message	Tap the microphone button once to switch it to a camera, then hold to record a round video message, up to 60 seconds. Tap again to switch back.

One tick under your message means it was sent; two ticks mean it was read.

Acting on a message

Hover over a message and select the smiley button next to it:

Action	What it does
Reactions	Add one of six emoji reactions. Select it again to take it back.
Reply	Quotes the message above yours.
Copy text	Copies the text of the message.
Forward	Opens Forward message — pick a conversation and the message is sent there, marked as forwarded.
Edit	Your own text messages only. Edited messages are marked edited.
Delete	Your own messages only. After you confirm, the message is deleted for everyone.

Searching

• Your conversations — select the search icon at the top of the list and type in Search conversations. Use All, Unread and Online to narrow the list.
• Inside a chat — select Search messages at the top of the chat and type in Search in conversation.

Calling a member

1. Open the chat with the person.
2. Select Voice call or Video call at the top. Their screen shows an incoming call.
3. They choose Accept, Decline, or — for a video call — Audio to answer without their camera.

During a call you can switch camera and microphone, share your screen with Share screen, and go full screen.

Pinning, muting and deleting a conversation

Right-click a conversation in the list (on a phone, press and hold), or select the name at the top of an open chat to see its details:

Option	What it does
Pin conversation / Pin	Keeps the conversation at the top of your list.
Mute	Stops notifications for this conversation. Unmute turns them back on.
Share Contact	Copies a link to the person's profile.
Delete Conversation / Delete	Removes the conversation from your list. The other person keeps their copy. If they write to you again, the conversation comes back.

Blocking someone

1. Open the chat with the person and select their name at the top.
2. Select Block User, then Block.

Neither of you can message or call the other while the block is on. To lift it, select Unblock User in the same place.

Things worth knowing

• Messages are private. Admins can't read, search or remove other members' messages, and there's no admin view of chats — see Admin settings.
• There's no setting to turn Messages off. Members who are banned can't use Messages until the ban ends.
• Story replies arrive here. When someone replies to your story, the reply opens a chat with them.