How do messages work?
On this page
Messages are private, one-to-one conversations with other members. They update live: new messages, typing, read ticks and reactions show up without refreshing. You'll find them at Messages.
Start a conversation
- Go to Messages and tap New message (the chat icon next to the page title).
- Type at least two letters of a name or @username and pick the person.
- Write your message and send it.
You can also tap the Message button on someone's profile, or choose Message from the ⋯ menu on a post, comment, song or video. That opens a quick message so you don't have to leave the page. Every conversation has its own address, /messages/username.
What you can send
- Text up to 4,000 characters. On a keyboard, Enter sends and Shift+Enter starts a new line. On phones, Enter adds a line and you tap Send.
- Emoji from the smiley button in the message box.
- Photos, videos and files with the paperclip (Add a photo, video or file): images, video, audio, PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and text files, up to 25 MB each. Anything you typed is sent with it as a caption. SVG files aren't accepted.
- Link previews: the first link in your message gets a preview card. Tap the X on the card to send the link without it.
- Voice messages: when the box is empty, the send button becomes a microphone. See Voice notes.
Reply, react and copy
On a computer, hover over a message to see React, Reply and Copy text. On a phone, press and hold the message. There are eight quick reactions (thumbs up, heart, laughing, surprised, sad, praying hands, fire and 100). You get one reaction per message: pick another to change it, or tap yours again to remove it. You can't react to your own messages.
Read ticks and unread counts
- One check means Sent. Two checks mean Seen.
- While the other person types, you'll see typing… under their name.
- Unread conversations show a count in the list, and the Messages icon at the top of the site shows your unread total. Requests aren't included in that total.
- Scroll up (or tap Load older messages) to see earlier messages.
Conversation options
Open the ⋯ menu at the top of a chat for View profile, Search in chat, Delete conversation and Block.
- Delete conversation removes it for you only. The other person keeps their copy, and if they message you again the conversation comes back with just the new messages.
- Block stops them from messaging you, seeing your profile or finding your posts. You can unblock from the same menu or in Settings → Privacy.
Messages from people you don't follow land in Requests, not your Inbox. See Message requests. Messages from the offtheave team always go to your Inbox.
Troubleshooting
- Not sent · Tap to retry: the message didn't reach us. Check your connection and tap it to send again.
- You can't send messages to this user: one of you has blocked the other.
- Slow down a little: you sent a lot of messages in a few seconds. Wait a moment.
- You've started a lot of new conversations today: there's a daily cap on messaging new people, to stop spam. Try again tomorrow.
- Files can be up to 25 MB or File type not allowed: shrink the file or send a different format. If you send a lot of files in an hour, you'll be asked to wait a little.
- Can't open this: the link points to a conversation that doesn't exist or isn't yours.