Connecteam’s Chat is an effortless way to create an efficient communication center with your employees. In some businesses, particularly larger businesses with numerous employees, managers prefer to limit their interactions to essential communications only. With Chat Locking, managers can lock chat conversations on both ends. This capability empowers managers to effectively manage one-on-one conversations with their employees and maintain control over communication flow within the organization.
When a chat is locked, nobody can send messages to the chat. This means that both sides can't share media and text in the conversation, nor can they use any Quick Actions. Users are also unable to forward messages to a locked conversation.
In this article, we'll go over how managers (with owner or admin permissions) can lock and unlock a chat, and how it will appear for users. We will go over:
How to Set Up Chat Locking
For this capability to work, the Chat settings need to be set up in one of two ways. Click on the Settings icon, and navigate to the Chat Permissions tab.
Mark 'Users can start chat conversations with anyone' & 'Users can never start a chat conversation with [select the relevant owners & admins from the list]'
Mark 'Users can't start chat conversations with other users' & 'Users can never start a chat conversations with [select the relevant owners & admins from the list]'. Admin permissions need to be marked for 'Admins can start chat conversations with anyone.'
Once you've set this up, you can start locking chats with your employees! Read on to learn how.
You may be wondering why to use this capability instead of simply changing the chat settings. Chat locking gives your managers the ability to chat with their employees while still being able to control the flow of information. Chat settings, on the other hand, come with less flexibility; either users can or cannot chat with managers.
How to Lock a Chat
Admin Dashboard
Log into the admin dashboard and access the Chat feature on the sidebar.
Hover over a chat, click on the three dots, and click Lock.
The conversation is now locked and both users will not be able to respond in the chat.
Admin Mobile App
Access the Chat feature through the Chat tab.
Long press on a chat name.
Press Lock conversation.
💡 Tip: This feature is only applicable for private chat conversations between an admin and a user. Admins can't lock chats with other admins, and owners can't lock chats with admins.
How to Unlock a Chat
Admin Dashboard
Log into the admin dashboard and access the Chat feature on the sidebar.
Hover over a chat, click on the three dots, and click Unlock.
OR click on a chat and in the chat room click Unlock at the bottom of the screen.
The chat is now unlocked and both users will be able to respond in the chat.
Admin Mobile App
Access the Chat feature through the Chat tab.
Long press on a chat name.
Press Unlock conversation.
OR
Press on the chat and in the chat room press Unlock at the bottom of the screen.
💡 Tip: Forwarding a message on the admin dashboard or mobile app to locked conversations will automatically unlock them.
How to Lock or Unlock an Archived Chat
When a chat is archived, you have the option to lock or unlock it from the Archived Chats tab.
Admin Dashboard
Log into the admin dashboard and access the Chat feature on the sidebar.
Click on the three dots, and select Archived Conversations.
To lock a chat, hover over the chat, click on the three dots, and click Lock. To unlock a chat, click on the three dots and click Unlock or click Unlock at the bottom of the chat screen.
Admin Mobile App
On the mobile app, go to the Chat feature. Click on the Archived Conversations icon at the top right of the screen. Long press on a chat name, and click 'Lock/Unlock' or click on the chat and in the chat room click 'Unlock'.
Please note, locking or unlocking a chat while it's archived will unarchive the chat.
Access the Chat feature through the Chat tab.
Press on the Archived Conversations icon at the top right of the screen.
Long press on a chat name, and press Lock or Unlock
OR
Press on the chat and in the chat room press Lock or Unlock at the bottom of the screen.
💡 Tip: After locking a chat, you can archive it from the same screen. You can do so either by pressing the ‘Archive’ button at the bottom of the screen or by long pressing on the chat name and choosing 'Archive conversation'. Keep in mind that when you archive a chat, it will only archive the chat for you and not for the other user.
How Locked Chats Appear for Users
On the user dashboard and mobile app, users will see a lock icon on the chatroom list and will see a banner at the bottom of the conversation letting them know the chat is locked.
They will not be able to share files, do any quick actions, or forward messages to the conversation.
Related Articles
For more information about the Chat feature, check out our collection of articles.
*Chat Locking is available from the Communications Hub Advanced Plan*
Need more guidance? 🙋 Our LIVE support team (at the bottom right corner of your screen) replies to ANY question.