The inbox is where you read and reply to the messages Members send you. You open it from Messages in the left menu. Every conversation is between you and one Member on one channel, and the thread shows everything that Member has received from you, including Campaigns and automated messages.

What is the inbox

The Messages page has three parts:

One channel at a time. The inbox shows one channel at a time: SMS, WhatsApp or Apple Messages. If a Member can reach you on more than one channel, each channel is a separate conversation, so a Member's WhatsApp messages do not appear in their SMS conversation.

Everything you sent appears in the thread. Alongside your replies, the thread shows the Campaign messages that Member received and any messages sent by Flows. Messages sent by a Flow are marked Sent via Automation under the message.

Reading the conversation list. Each row has an indicator to the left of the Member's initials:

Why should I use the inbox?

Community is built on two-way conversation. Members don't only receive your messages. They can text you back, and the inbox is where you answer them. That reply is the difference between a conversation and a broadcast.

Members opted in to hear from you, so when one replies, they are choosing to talk to you directly. Answering them one-to-one gives them something a Campaign alone can't: they ask a question, react to something you sent or tell you what they want, and they hear back from you personally.

Each conversation also builds on everything else you send. Because the thread shows the Campaigns and automated messages a Member has received, you can see which of your messages a Member is replying to before you answer. What Members tell you can then shape what you send next. For example, you can add Members who replied a certain way to a Subcommunity and follow up with them as a group.

How do I use it?

Replying to a Member

1. Click Messages in the left menu.
2. Click the channel menu next to Filter and choose SMS, WhatsApp or Apple Messages.
3. Click the Member's conversation in the list.
4. Type your reply in the Send a message to [Member name] field at the bottom of the thread.
5. To add an image, emoji or GIF, click the matching button to the left of the message field.
6. Click the send button at the right of the message field.

As you type, the counter in the message field shows the length of your reply and how many segments it uses. For media types and size limits, see Sending Media over SMS and MMS.

If your reply includes a link, a Community Link Tracker checkbox appears under the message field. Keep it checked to track clicks on that link. 

On WhatsApp, when you can reply depends on WhatsApp's own messaging rules. See WhatsApp in Community.

Filtering conversations

1. Click Filter above the conversation list.
2. Click each option you want to apply.
3. Click Done.

To remove every filter, click Filter, then click Clear All.

When you choose more than one option, the list shows only conversations that match all of them. Choosing two Subcommunities shows only Members who belong to both, not Members who belong to either.

Searching your messages

1. Click Search messages above the conversation list.
   
   
    
2. Type the words or phrase you are looking for. 
3. Press the Enter key
4. To narrow the date range, choose Today, 6m, 90d, 60d, 30d or Custom and set a start and end date.
5. To change the order of results, choose sort by relevance, oldest first or newest first in the sort by control. 
   
   

Above the results, you see the total number of matching messages, the total number of Members who sent them, and a graph of matching messages over time.

Acting on search results

1. Run a search. See Searching your messages.
2. Select the Members you want or choose Select All.

3. Choose an action:

   • Message: Compose a message to the selected Members.
   • Add To: Add the selected Members to a Subcommunity
     
     

    

Marking a conversation as unread

Marking a conversation as unread brings back the blue dot so you can find the conversation again later.

On web:

1. Click Messages in the left menu.
2. Find the conversation.
3. Click the round indicator to the left of the conversation. A blue dot means unread. An empty circle means read.

On iOS:

1. Open the Community app and tap Messages.
2. Find the conversation.
3. Swipe right on the conversation.

Viewing a Member's details

1. Open the Member's conversation.
2. Click Details at the top right of the thread.

The Details panel shows when the Member joined (Joined), when they were last active (Last Activity) and their Acquisition Source. Its tabs are Details, Activity, Subcommunities and Custom. For what each field means, see Members in Community and Custom Member Data in Community.

To add the Member to Favorites, click the star at the top right of the panel. Favorites appear under Subcommunities when you filter conversations.

To close the panel, click the back arrow at its top left.

Hiding offensive content

1. Click Settings in the left menu.
2. Click Customize.
3. Click Manage next to Filter Offensive Content.
4. Add the words or phrases you want hidden from your inbox, or remove ones you no longer want hidden.

How do I use it well?

Find who is waiting on you. Combine Unread with Inbound under Last Direct Message to see conversations where the Member spoke last and you have not read it yet. Because filters combine, adding a Subcommunity narrows this to the Members you most want to answer first.

Turn replies into an audience. After a Campaign that asks a question, search for the answer you care about, select the Members who sent it and add them to a Subcommunity. You can then send them a follow-up Campaign. See Subcommunities in Community.

Write like it's one person, because it is. Members receive every message, Campaigns included, as a one-to-one text. Writing in the singular ("you", not "all of you") matches how the message arrives and keeps replies feeling like a conversation.

Common questions

Why am I not seeing messages in Community?

Texts from a contact appear in your inbox only after they finish opting in. Until then, you won't see the contact or get notifications about their messages. Once they have opted in, everything they text your Community number shows up in Messages.

If someone signs up through the form on your website, they don't text you, so no conversation appears. Instead, they show up in the Web Visitors Subcommunity once they have opted in.

Do you have a group text feature?

No. Every conversation in Community is between you and one Member. A Campaign can reach many Members at once, but each Member receives it as an individual text, and each reply comes back to you as a separate conversation. See Campaigns in Community.

Why can't I find a conversation?

If Members say they have texted you and nothing appears on any channel, see Why am I not seeing messages in Community?

Why do I see messages I didn't send in a conversation?

The thread shows everything the Member received from your account, not only your replies. That includes Campaign messages and messages sent by Flows, which are marked Sent via Automation.

Do Quiet Hours apply to my replies?

Quiet Hours are not applied to direct messages. A one-to-one reply to a Member is a conversation, not a marketing send, so you will not see a Quiet Hours warning when you reply from the inbox.

That changes if what you send reads as marketing. A reply that promotes a product, an offer or an event can count as a marketing message, whichever screen you send it from. You are responsible for when those messages arrive, so save promotional content for a Campaign or send it outside quiet hours. See Quiet Hours.

Are links in my replies tracked?

Yes, when the Community Link Tracker is on. As soon as you add a link to your reply, a Community Link Tracker checkbox appears under the message field. Keep it checked and the link is sent wrapped in an m.community.com link, which is what lets Community track clicks. If you uncheck it, the link is sent as you typed it and clicks are not tracked. See Replying to a Member.