Send and receive messages

Where to find your messages

On a computer, click Messages in the menu on the left. On a phone, open Home and tap Messages (the paper plane) at the top right.

A pink number on the Messages icon shows what you have not read yet. Each unread message in a direct chat counts as one. A club or meetup chat with new messages also counts as one.

On a wide screen, your chat list is on the left and the open chat is beside it. On a phone you see one at a time: tap a chat to open it, and tap the back arrow at the top left to go back to the list.

Start a new chat

1. 1Open the person's profile. You can find people with Search or on the People page.
2. 2Tap Message under their name.
3. 3Type in the Message… box at the bottom.
4. 4Press Enter on your keyboard, or tap Send.

You can also tap New message (the pencil at the top of your chat list). It opens the People page, where you can find the person and open their profile.

The chat appears in the other person's list as soon as you send your first message. Sikhami has no message requests: any member can open a chat with you from your profile, even if your account is private.

The Message button is hidden when you have blocked the person, or when they have blocked you.

Your chat list

The list is called Chats. The chat with the newest message is at the top.

• Each row shows the person's photo and name, the last message, and how long ago it was sent.
• A chat with unread messages has its name in bold and a blue dot on the right.
• Clubs have a small group icon next to their name. Meetups have a small calendar icon.
• Photos, voice notes and other items show as a short line, for example 📷 Photo, 🎤 Voice message or 📄 followed by a file name.

To find a chat, type in Search chats. It looks at the person's name and at the words of the last message.

Inside a chat

• Your messages are on the right. The other person's messages are on the left. Each message shows the time it was sent.
• Press Enter to send. Press Shift and Enter together to start a new line.
• A message can be up to 2,000 characters long.
• Web links in a message can be clicked. They open in a new tab.
• Tap the person's name or photo at the top to open their profile.
• The paperclip, the microphone and the GIF button send photos, files, voice notes and GIFs. See Send photos, files and voice notes.
• The phone and camera icons at the top start an audio or video call. See Voice and video calls.
• The ₹ button next to the message box (Send a Super Chat) sends a paid message that stays pinned at the top of the chat for a while. See Super Chat.
• When you reply to someone's story, your reply arrives in your chat with them.

Opening a chat marks its messages as read. The website does not show read receipts ("Seen") or a sign that the other person is typing.

Chat details, blocking and reporting

On a computer, click Chat info (the i at the top right of a chat) to open Details on the right side. On very wide screens it is already open.

• Profile, Audio call and Video call buttons.
• Media and links: the photos, GIFs and links from the recent messages of this chat.
• Privacy & support: Block (or Unblock) and Report.

Block asks you to confirm first. To learn what blocking does, see Block someone. Report opens a short form where you choose what is wrong. See Report content.

On a phone, Chat info is not shown. To block or report someone from a phone, open their profile, tap ⋯ (More options), then tap Block or Report.

Deleting messages and chats

On the website you cannot delete, edit or unsend a message, and you cannot delete a whole chat. Please think before you send.

The Sikhami Android app has Delete for me and, for your own messages, Delete for everyone. A message you delete for yourself in the app is also hidden from you on the website. A message deleted for everyone disappears for both of you.

If someone sends you something abusive, report them and block them.

Common problems

• I cannot find an old chat. The list shows your 20 most recent direct chats. To open an older one, go to the person's profile and tap Message. Your earlier conversation opens.
• I cannot see older messages. The website shows the latest 20 messages of each chat. Older messages are still saved.
• There is no box to type in. When an account is suspended, it can read chats but cannot send messages. A note at the bottom of the chat explains why. See Account suspension and moderation.
• The Message button is missing on a profile. One of you has blocked the other.
• "This conversation could not be opened." The chat address is not right. Open the person's profile and tap Message instead.

Questions