Chat settings and read receipts
Article Content
This page covers the controls that change how chats behave for you: read receipts, muting, and blocking. Two of these (mute and block) need to be turned on by an admin for your whole Pilla account before anyone can use them.
Read receipts
Pilla shows read receipts on a per-message basis. There is no global on-or-off toggle -- everyone sees the same information.
On the web app
The web chat panel does not display a per-message "Seen by" line. Unread counts on each chat row in the Chats tab tell you how many messages are still unread for you in that chat.
On the mobile app
Long-press any message in a chat and tap Info in the action sheet that appears. A read receipts screen opens listing everyone who could have read the message, with a tick (CheckCheck icon) next to each person who has. A bell icon next to a name means that person was sent a push notification about the message.
The same screen is used for team chats, group chats, and DMs.
Muting a chat
Muting a chat stops push notifications for it, but the chat stays in your list and you still receive messages -- they just arrive silently. Mute is per-user; muting a chat only mutes it for you.
This option is only available if your account admin has enabled it in chat settings (allow_mute_chats -- see below). If it is off, the mute button does not appear.
On the web app
Each chat row has a three-dot menu on the right.
- Open the menu on the chat you want to mute.
- Pick Mute.
A confirmation reads "Chat muted" and a bell-off icon appears next to the chat name. To unmute, open the same menu and pick Unmute.
You can also mute or unmute several chats at once: tick the rows you want, then pick Mute X chats or Unmute X chats from the bulk actions menu that appears.
On the mobile app
Each row in the chats popup has a bell icon on the right. Tap it to toggle mute. The icon switches between a bell (not muted) and a bell-off (muted).
Blocking a user
Blocking is one-way: when you block someone, they cannot send you DMs and their messages in your DM with them are hidden from you. They still appear in any team chats or group chats you share.
Blocking is only available in DMs and only if your account admin has enabled it (allow_block_users -- see below).
On the web app
- Open the Chats tab and find the DM with the person you want to block.
- Open the row menu (the three dots).
- Pick Block User.
A confirmation reads "User blocked". A ban icon appears next to the chat name. To unblock, open the same menu and pick Unblock User.
While a DM is blocked, the message input in the chat panel is replaced with "You can't send messages in this conversation."
On the mobile app
Blocking and unblocking is done from the web app. The mobile app respects the block state -- if a DM is blocked, the input is replaced with "You can't send messages in this conversation." -- but does not currently expose a block toggle in the chats list.
Filtering chats by mute and block state on the web app
The filter bar above the Chats tab lets you focus on muted or blocked chats:
- Your Mute Status -- pick "Muted" to see only your muted chats, "Not Muted" to hide them, or leave it on the default to see everything.
- Your Block Status -- pick "Blocked" to see only chats with blocked users, "Not Blocked" to hide them, or leave on the default to see everything.
These filters are useful for spring-cleaning: filter to "Muted" to remind yourself which chats are silenced, or to "Blocked" to find DMs you may want to unblock.
Admin: turning mute and block on or off
Two account-wide settings control whether mute and block are available at all:
allow_mute_chats-- if off, no one in the account can mute a chat.allow_block_users-- if off, no one in the account can block another user in a DM.
To change these, admins open the Chats tab on the web app, open the menu, and pick Edit chat settings. The settings panel shows two yes/no questions:
- Should users be allowed to mute individual chats?
- Should users be allowed to block other users from DMs?
Pick Yes or No for each and tap Save.
Changes apply to everyone in the account.
Tips
- Mute is the right tool for chats you want to keep but don't want pinging your phone. Block is the right tool for stopping someone from messaging you.
- Block only works on DMs. To stop someone seeing your messages in a team chat or group chat, they have to be removed from the team or group instead.
- If mute or block buttons aren't showing up, ask your admin whether the account-wide settings are switched on.
- The mobile bell icon and the web Mute/Unmute menu item are the same toggle -- if you mute on one, the other reflects it instantly.