Chat ==== Chat gives your members a place to talk to each other inside TouchPoint. Conversations are attached to Involvements, so the youth group, a small group, or a serving team each get their own chat that only the people you intend can see. Members use Chat from the mobile app, and can also use it from their own person record in TouchPoint. Staff with the right role can moderate every conversation from the `Chat Management` page. .. note:: Chat requires version 3.10 or later of the mobile app, and it must be turned on for your church before anyone sees it. See `Enabling Chat`_ below. How Chat Works -------------- **Conversations come from Involvements** A chat is created for an Involvement when chat is enabled on that Involvement. The chat carries the Involvement's name, and a link on the conversation opens the Involvement itself. **Open and closed chats** An open chat is discoverable church-wide: any member who can use Chat sees it in the list of chats available to join. A closed chat is only visible to the members of its Involvement. **Joining is always up to the member** Enabling chat on an Involvement does *not* add anyone to the conversation. The chat simply appears in the member's list of available chats, and the member chooses to join. Nobody receives messages from a chat they have not joined. **Members can leave, and come back** Leaving a chat stops the messages and removes it from the member's joined list. The chat returns to their available list, so they can re-join it later. Chat in the Mobile App ---------------------- Members open Chat from the app's side menu, under the `Connect` group. The menu item only appears when chat is enabled for the church and the member meets the age requirement. **The chat list** The list is split into two sections: - `Joined Chats` - the conversations the member belongs to, newest activity first, with an unread count and a preview of the last message. A muted chat shows a crossed-out bell. - `Available to Join` - the conversations the member can join but has not, each with a `Join` action. A search box filters the list by conversation name, and pulling down refreshes it. **Reading and sending messages** Tapping a conversation opens the thread. The composer at the bottom sends a message with `Send Message`. Where photo attachments are allowed, `Attach Photo or Video` adds a photo to the message, and `Remove attachment` clears it before sending. **Reacting, replying, reporting, and deleting** Pressing and holding a message opens its menu: - `Reply` quotes the message in the composer; `Cancel reply` discards the quote. - `Report` flags another member's message for staff review. - `Delete Message` appears on the member's own messages and removes the message from the conversation. The same menu offers quick reactions. Tapping a reaction already on a message adds the member to it, and tapping it again takes them off. **Chat Info** Tapping the conversation name at the top of a thread opens `Chat Info`, which has two tabs: - `Members` - everyone who has joined, searchable by name. - `Settings` - `Mute Notifications` or `Unmute Notifications` for the conversation, and `Leave Chat`, which asks `Are you sure you want to leave this chat?` before removing the member. A chat can also be muted or unmuted directly from the chat list by pressing and holding the conversation. Chat on a Person's Record ------------------------- Members can also use Chat in TouchPoint from the `Chat` tab on the `Communications` tab of their own person record. The tab only appears on the signed-in user's own record - chat acts as that user, so no one can read another person's conversations from their record. It also requires that chat be enabled for the church and that the user meet the age requirement. .. figure:: images/WebChatOverview.png :target: # The `Chat` tab, with joined conversations and available chats on the left and the selected conversation on the right The left column lists the member's `Conversations` with unread counts, followed by the chats they can join: - `Your Involvements` - available chats for Involvements the member belongs to. - `Other Chats` - other open chats anywhere in the church. `Join` on either list adds the member to the conversation and moves it up into `Conversations`. **Sending messages** Type in the composer at the bottom of the thread and click `Send`. Where photo attachments are allowed, a file picker appears next to `Send`; images sent in the conversation can be clicked to enlarge. **Message actions** Hovering a message shows quick reactions and a `⋯` menu. On another member's message the menu offers `Reply` and `Report`. .. figure:: images/WebChatMessageActions.png :target: # Reactions and the actions available on another member's message On the member's own messages the menu offers `Reply`, `Edit`, and `Delete`. A deleted message is replaced with `(message deleted)` in the conversation. .. figure:: images/WebChatOwnMessageActions.png :target: # The actions available on the member's own message Replying quotes the original above the composer, where the reply can be canceled before sending. .. figure:: images/WebChatReply.png :target: # Replying to a message **Searching a conversation** The search icon above the thread opens a keyword search of the messages in the selected conversation. `clear` returns to the full conversation. .. figure:: images/WebChatSearch.png :target: # Searching the messages in a conversation **Members, muting, and leaving** `Members` lists everyone in the conversation, searchable and paged, with each name linking to that person's record. `Mute` and `Unmute` control notifications for the conversation, and `Leave` removes the member from it - the chat then returns to their available list so they can re-join. .. figure:: images/WebChatMembers.png :target: # The members of a conversation Chat Management --------------- `Chat Management` lets staff read, moderate, and clean up every chat in the church. It is found at `Admin > Communication > Mobile App > Chat Management` and requires the **ManageChat** role. The menu item only appears when the mobile app is on version 3. .. figure:: images/ChatAdminMenu.png :target: # `Chat Management` on the `Admin > Communication` menu .. figure:: images/ChatManagerOverview.png :target: # The `Chat Management` page `All Chats` on the left lists every conversation, with `Search chats` to filter by name. Each row carries counts for its members, messages, reported content, and blocked content, so conversations needing attention stand out. Selecting a conversation opens it on the right, with three views: - `Chat` - the messages in the conversation. - `Blocked & Reported` - only the content that has been reported or blocked. - `Members` - the people in the conversation. .. figure:: images/ChatManagerConversation.png :target: # A conversation selected in `Chat Management` **Filtering the messages** `FROM` and `TO` limit the messages to a date range, `PERSON` limits them to one member of the conversation, and `SEARCH` limits them by keyword. `Apply` runs the filter. **Moderating messages** The `⋯` menu on a message offers `Report`, to flag it for review, and `Delete`, to remove it from the conversation. .. figure:: images/ChatManagerMessageActions.png :target: # The moderation actions on a message `Blocked & Reported` gathers that content in one place. Reported messages are shown as written; blocked messages and images are hidden behind `View blocked content`, so staff choose when to look at them. .. figure:: images/ChatManagerBlockedReported.png :target: # The `Blocked & Reported` view **Managing members** `Members` lists the people in the conversation, searchable and paged. `Remove` takes a member out of the conversation, and `Block` also keeps them from rejoining it. The `Include removed` and `Include blocked` checkboxes bring those people back into the list with a badge showing their status, where a removed person can be added back to the conversation and a blocked person can be unblocked. .. figure:: images/ChatManagerMembers.png :target: # The members of a conversation in `Chat Management` .. note:: A manager reading a conversation they have not joined can moderate it, but must join it before sending a message of their own. AI Content Moderation --------------------- Chat content is checked by Azure Content Safety before it reaches the conversation, and blocked messages and photos are never posted. See :doc:`AIContentModeration` for the `Content Safety` settings, the content categories, and the severity levels. Enabling Chat ------------- The chat settings are found under `Admin > Communication > Mobile App > Settings` on the `Features > Chat` tab, and require the **Admin** or **AppAdmin** role. .. figure:: images/ChatGlobalSettings.png :target: # The `Chat` settings, with the values from one church's database +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **Setting** | **Purpose** | +===================================+===================================================================+ | Enable Chat | Turns Chat on for the church. Must be True before anyone sees | | | Chat in the app or on their person record | +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Minimum Age Restriction | The youngest age allowed to use Chat. Members below the selected | | | age do not see Chat at all | +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Allow Private Involvement Chats | Allows Involvements to have closed chats, visible only to the | | | members of the Involvement | +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Allow Photo Attachments | Who may attach a photo to a message: `Everyone`, leaders only, | | | or no one | +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ .. note:: When no minimum age is selected, TouchPoint requires members to be at least 18. A member with no birth date on their record is judged by their position in the family instead: adults may use Chat, children may not. When `Allow Photo Attachments` is set to leaders only, the leaders are the people with a leader attendance type in the Involvement the chat belongs to. Everyone else can still read the photos others post, but cannot attach one. **Turning on chat for an Involvement** Chat is enabled one Involvement at a time, on the Involvement's `Registration > Mobile` tab: - `Enable Mobile Chat` creates the chat for the Involvement and makes it available to join. - `Closed Chat` keeps the chat visible only to the members of that Involvement. Leave it unchecked for an open chat that anyone in the church can find and join. .. figure:: images/InvolvementChatSettings.png :target: # The chat settings on an Involvement's `Registration > Mobile` tab .. caution:: Clearing `Closed Chat` on an existing chat makes its conversation discoverable church-wide. Review who is in the chat before opening it up. **Notifications** Members are notified of new chat messages through the app's push notifications, which have their own church-wide setting. See :doc:`PushNotifications` for `Enable Chat Notification` and the rest of the notification settings. Members can mute an individual conversation for themselves from `Chat Info` in the app or with `Mute` on their person record. .. admonition:: Use Case To give a youth small group a private place to talk, set `Enable Chat` to True for the church and set `Minimum Age Restriction` to an age the whole group meets. Then open the small group Involvement, check `Enable Mobile Chat` and `Closed Chat` on its `Registration > Mobile` tab, and tell the group the chat is waiting for them. Only members of that Involvement see the chat, and each of them joins it from `Available to Join` in the app. A leader with the **ManageChat** role can read the conversation and remove anything inappropriate from `Chat Management`. | | +--------------------+------------------+ | **Latest Update** | **09/15/2026** | +--------------------+------------------+ Moved the AI Content Moderation details to their own article and linked to it from the Chat article. New article documenting the chat feature: how members use Chat in the mobile app and on their own person record, how staff moderate conversations from Chat Management, and the church-wide and Involvement settings that enable Chat, including age and photo attachment permissions.