Stories overview

Stories are short video updates you can share with your team. They appear at the top of the main screens and disappear after 24 hours.

What are stories?

Stories are:

• 30-second video recordings
• Visible to your team members
• Temporary (expire after 24 hours)
• Displayed at the top of the Shifts, Work, and Leaderboard tabs

They're perfect for quick updates, celebrations or sharing moments with your team.

How stories differ from videos

Where stories appear

The stories row is a horizontal strip of circles at the top of certain tabs. Each circle represents a person who has posted stories.

Finding the stories row

The stories row appears on the Shifts, Work, and Leaderboard tabs. It is displayed above the main content on each tab.

Look for:

• Profile photos in circles
• A + icon on the bottom-right of your own circle for creating a new story
• Circles arranged horizontally, scrollable left and right

Story indicators

The stories row uses visual indicators to show which stories are new and which you've already watched.

Understanding story circles

Each circle in the row represents a person:

• Full opacity - They have stories you haven't watched yet
• Faded (low opacity) - You've seen all their stories
• Your circle - Always shows at full opacity with a + icon for adding new stories

The faded appearance tells you there's nothing new to watch from that person.

After watching

Once you've watched all of someone's stories:

• Their circle becomes faded (reduced opacity)
• New stories from them will bring it back to full opacity

Watching stories

Opening a story

1. Find their circle in the stories row
2. Tap the circle
3. The story viewer opens fullscreen
4. Their first unwatched story plays (or the first story if all are viewed)

Story fullscreen view

The viewer shows:

• The video playing fullscreen with a black background
• The sender's name and profile photo at the top-left
• Progress bars at the very top showing story count

Progress bars

At the top of the viewer:

• Small bars represent each story from that person
• Filled bars (white) are stories you've already watched
• The current bar fills as the video plays
• Unfilled bars (translucent) are stories you haven't reached yet

Auto-advancing

Stories advance automatically:

• When a video ends, the next story plays
• If there are no more stories from this person, the viewer closes
• You can also tap to advance manually

Touch gestures and controls

Tap to navigate

The screen is divided into tap zones:

• Tap left side (first 30% of screen) - Go back to the previous story
• Tap right side (remaining 70% of screen) - Go to the next story

Tapping past the last story closes the viewer.

Swipe left and right

You can also swipe:

• Swipe left - Go to the next story
• Swipe right - Go to the previous story

A swipe must cover at least 50 pixels to register.

Long-press to pause

To pause a story:

1. Touch and hold anywhere on the screen (for at least 200ms)
2. The video pauses and a Paused indicator appears
3. The progress bar stops filling
4. Release to resume playback

This is useful for reading text or looking at details.

Closing stories

To exit the story viewer:

• Wait for all stories to finish (the viewer closes automatically)
• Or tap past the last story to close
• You return to the previous screen

Viewing your own stories

You can watch your own stories to see what you've shared and check how they look to others.

Tapping your story circle

1. Find your circle in the stories row (it always appears first on the left)
2. Your circle shows your profile photo with a + icon
3. Tap your profile photo (not the + icon) to view your stories
4. Your stories play in the viewer

Tapping the + icon opens the story camera instead.

Seeing your posted stories

When viewing your own stories:

• They play just like other people's stories
• You see exactly what others see
• Progress bars show how many you've posted
• Navigate with the same gestures

Multiple stories

If you've posted several stories:

• Each appears as a segment in the progress bar
• They play in the order you posted them (oldest first)
• Tap left/right to move between them
• All stories from the current 24-hour period appear

Welcome stories

New users may see welcome stories during their first 24 hours on the platform. These are system stories that introduce Pilla and appear alongside regular team stories.

Story visibility

Stories are visible based on team membership.

Who sees your stories

Your stories are visible to:

• All members of teams you belong to
• Both staff and managers on those teams
• Anyone who joins those teams while your story is active

Stories you can see

You can view stories from:

• Anyone on the same teams as you
• Welcome stories during your first 24 hours
• Your own stories

Story expiration

Stories are temporary by design. Every story automatically expires and disappears after 24 hours.

The 24-hour rule

• Timer starts when you upload the story
• Story remains visible for exactly 24 hours
• After 24 hours, it automatically disappears
• No action required from you

What happens when stories expire

• The story is no longer returned in queries
• Viewers can no longer watch it
• Your circle may disappear from the stories row if you have no other active stories

No archive

• Stories are not available after expiration
• There's no archive to browse
• Important information should go in videos or messages

Real-time updates

Stories update in real-time across Pilla.

Instant story appearance

When a team member posts a story:

• It appears in the stories row within seconds
• No manual refresh needed
• Everyone on the team sees it simultaneously

Always current

The stories row stays up to date:

• Updates happen automatically via real-time subscriptions
• New stories appear as they're posted
• Expired stories disappear on schedule

Tips

• Faded circles mean you've already watched all their stories
• Tap anywhere to navigate between stories
• Use long-press to pause on interesting moments
• Check the stories row regularly for updates
• Stories are for moments, not permanent records
• Important information should go in videos or messages
• Review your stories after posting to check quality