Messages is now Chat. This is one of the biggest updates we have shipped: a new chat system and a new look, built to replace the old message system. Your existing conversations are migrated, so you pick up right where you left off. Talk one to one, start a private group, or jump into a live channel with other members. Reply to a message, react to it, pin the conversations that matter, and hide or archive the ones you are done with.
New Features
Bug Fixes / Updates
- Links: The old Messages page and its links open Chat.
- Notifications: Account notification settings label this Chat, covering new messages, invites, and reactions. Mute a single conversation from its menu when you want that room quiet. Channels stay out of notification and email alerts.
- Reports: Report a message or a conversation the same way you report other content.
- Selected tabs: The active tab uses the primary color so it stays easy to see, including on the Halloween theme.
- Halloween theme: Secondary buttons and badges use a light surface so the label stays readable on the dark pumpkin background.
Feature - Chat
Every conversation, in one new place. Open Chat from the nav. The old inbox is gone; this is the home for direct messages, groups, and channels, with a fresh layout built for how you actually talk.
The icon shows an unread count, or a dot when something is unread in a muted room. A small badge under the icon shows how many people are in channels right now.
The sidebar splits Messages (direct chats and groups) and Channels. Filter either list by unread, pinned, hidden, or archived, and search by name. Pin a conversation to keep it at the top. Hide one you want out of the way. Mute a room when you want it quiet. Your draft stays in the composer until you send it.
Direct messages are one to one. Opening a chat with someone you already talk to returns that same conversation. Direct chats and smaller groups show who has seen the latest messages.
Feature - Channels
Live chat with members, right now. Chat opens on Live channels—busy public rooms you can join in one tap and talk in as it happens. More channels lists the rest. Public channels are open for anyone to join. Private channels stay limited to people who own them or were invited.
Supporters can create a channel, name it, describe it, and choose public or private. A private channel stays members-only; it cannot later be made public. Inside a channel you can see who's online. Owners can archive a channel (history stays, posting stops) or delete it. A deleted conversation disappears for everyone and is removed permanently after 30 days.
Feature - Groups
Your people, in a room you control. Create a group, name it, and invite people. At the free and preview membership levels a group can have up to 4 members, including you. Supporters can have up to 50. When a group is full, the invite screen explains the limit and how to raise it.
Pin a group you keep coming back to. Hide it from the list when you want it tucked away. Owners can archive a group when the conversation is finished—the history stays, and posting stops.
Leave a group when you are done. Owners and admins can invite, remove, and mute members for a set time (from 1 hour up to 30 days).
Feature - Message Tools
Reply, react, and find it later. The composer has a new feel: bold, italic, lists, links, and emoji. Attach up to 10 photos from your albums. Enter sends; Shift+Enter adds a line.
Reply to a specific message so the thread stays clear. React to a message from the set on it—no need to send a whole reply just to say you saw it.
You can edit or delete your own message for 24 hours. Edited messages are marked. Search this conversation, or all of them, with at least 3 characters, and jump straight to the matching message. A typing line shows who is writing, and a divider marks messages you have not read yet.