Native messaging

Overview

This article document provides a comprehensive overview of Simpplr's Native messaging feature. Native messaging is designed to enhance internal communication and collaboration across organizations. It simplifies internal communication, offers robust moderation tools, and integrates seamlessly with our platform for a unified experience.

Key features

For app managers

Enable Native messaging
App managers can enable the messaging feature for their organization through the Application settings menu.

• Navigate to Application settings > Application > Setup > Messaging > Enable messaging.

• Configure organization-level permissions:

  • Who can create groups (Only app managers or everyone in the organization)

  • Group types (Public, Private, Announcement only)

  • File-sharing permissions

Moderation and reporting
Ensure a professional and secure communication environment with robust moderation tools.

• Review and manage reported messages with options to:

  • Ignore

  • Edit

  • Delete

Group management
Simplify group creation and maintenance with advanced management features:

• Group types:

  • Public: Open to all employees

  • Private: Invite-only

  • Announcement-only: Admin-posting restricted
    

  • Group creation and syncing with audience 

    • Sync audiences with groups to automatically add/remove users in groups. Only users with access to create groups and audiences can create messaging groups with audiences.
      

    • Manage user groups:

      • You can also add, update, or manage user groups by clicking Manage user groups.
        

Notifications

• Organization-wide settings:
  Configure default notification preferences for:

  • In-app notifications and push notifications
    
    

For end users

Messaging capabilities

• 1:1 messaging:
  Direct private messaging for focused conversations

• Group messaging:
  Join or create groups based on organizational needs
  

File sharing

• Share files from local storage if enabled

• Supported file types:
  Documents (.doc .pdf), Images (.png, .jpg), Compressed files (.zip)

Messaging for ABAC

With Audience Based Access Control (ABAC), groups can now be created and managed in ways that mirror real-world org structures. This flexibility enables highly targeted content, communications and access controls within messaging. 

Group messaging needs to be controlled and managed within the organization.

The settings for non-ABAC environment allow messaging groups to be created only by the app managers or by anyone in the organization. This does not allow users from specific audiences to be able create and manage groups. With ABAC, Messaging feature owners will be able to create Access control groups and provide the target audience and managers. This is backward compatible so the feature owner can also select anyone in the organization while creating the Access control group.  

Who's this for: App managers, end users, messaging feature owners, managers, and admins 

Reporting functionality

Message reporting:
Users can report inappropriate messages to ensure a respectful and professional communication environment.

• How to report:

  • Click the three-dot menu on a message.

  • Select Report Message and optionally add a reason for the report.
    

    •  

      • The report is sent to the group admin or app manager for review.

Search functionality

Message and file Search:
Locate specific messages, files, or mentions quickly across chats and groups.

• How to search:

  • Use the search bar.

  • Enter keywords and refine results with filters:

    • People

    • Message

    • Groups

    • Files

Mentions

@Mentions users and groups:
Stay informed by receiving notifications for mentions in 1:1 and group chats.

• How mentions work:

  • Mention users with @username

  • Mention groups with @groupname

• Notification behavior:

  • Mentions trigger:

    • In-app notifications

    • Push notifications (if enabled)

• Mentions tab:

  • View all mentions in one place under the Mentions, making it easy to track conversations and respond promptly

Save functionality

Save important messages:
Bookmark messages to revisit or reference later.

• How to save a message:

  • Click the three-dot menu on a message and select Save for later

• Access saved messages:

  • Open the Saved messages to view all your saved messages in one place

Notifications

Customizable notifications:
Tailor your notification preferences to stay informed without unnecessary distractions.

• Options:

  • Notify for:

    • All messages

    • Mentions and direct messages only

• Notification types:

  • In-app notifications

  • Push notifications
    

Messaging UX refresh

The Messaging experience has been refreshed with a more modern, streamlined interface. The goal of this update is to make day‑to‑day conversations feel cleaner, easier to follow, and more consistent with the rest of the product, without changing the core messaging capabilities you already use.

From this release onwards, the Messaging module adopts an updated layout, typography, spacing, and interaction patterns that align with the broader design system. This makes it simpler for users to read messages, understand conversation context, and find key actions such as starting a new chat, switching between conversations, or managing group details.

Who’s this feature for: All users

What’s changed in the Messaging experience

The refresh focuses on the overall look and feel of Messaging, rather than introducing entirely new features. You’ll notice several visual and usability improvements the moment you open your messages.

The conversation list, message pane, and header areas now use a more consistent layout, with clearer separation between different elements. Fonts, colors, and icons have been updated to improve readability and accessibility, especially in longer conversations or busy group chats. Spacing and alignment have been refined so that the interface feels less cramped and more balanced, reducing visual noise and helping messages stand out.

Across the module, common actions are easier to spot. Entry points to start a new conversation, search for people or groups, or access conversation settings are placed more predictably and follow the same visual language used in other areas of the application. This helps new users learn the interface more quickly and reduces the amount of re‑learning required when moving between Messaging and other modules.

The refreshed design also improves how states such as unread messages, active conversations, and system feedback are represented. Unread indicators are clearer, the currently selected conversation is easier to distinguish, and inline system messages (for example, when a group name changes or members are added) are visually differentiated so they don’t get lost among regular chat messages.

What has not changed

While the interface looks and feels different, the underlying messaging capabilities remain the same. You can still:

• Start and participate in one‑to‑one and group conversations

• Share text and supported attachments (as enabled in your environment)

• Use Messaging alongside other collaboration tools in the platform

The refresh does not change how messages are stored, who can see them, or how your organization’s security and access controls apply. Any ABAC‑related controls or audience restrictions that were already configured for Messaging continue to function as before; they now operate within a cleaner visual frame.

Existing conversations, groups, and history are all preserved. When you open Messaging after the update, you simply see the same content in the new interface.

Why this matters for users

The updated UI is designed to make messaging simpler and less tiring to use throughout the day. The clearer hierarchy of information helps you scan conversation lists more quickly and focus on what is important, whether that’s a direct message from a colleague or an active group discussion.

By aligning Messaging with the rest of the product’s design system, the experience feels more unified. Users who are already familiar with the main intranet, feeds, and other modules will find that Messaging behaves in more predictable ways, which reduces cognitive load and helps them move between tasks without friction.

Extra features:

• Groups can be renamed to suit organizational preferences

• Announcement-only mode: Admins can restrict posting permissions to designated users, making it an announcement-only group

Private groups and DMs

Confidentiality:
App managers do not have access to private conversations (DMs or private groups) unless a message is flagged for moderation.

Flagged messages:
Only reported messages are accessible to designated admins for review.

AI Chat Summary

AI Chat Summary generates concise, structured recaps of conversations directly in Simpplr Messaging so you can catch up quickly without scrolling through entire message threads. Summaries are available for group conversations and threads, and automatically adapt to your preferred language.

By default, summaries cover the last 3 days, with the option to select a custom date range of up to 15 days.

What you can do with AI Chat Summary

Catch up in seconds: Generate a summary of the last 3 days of activity with one click.

Customize the time window: Select any date range up to 15 days to cover longer or bursty conversations.

Stay in your flow: View summaries inline within the chat conversation or thread without leaving the interface.

Read in your language: Summaries automatically match your Simpplr profile language, including supported variants such as en-US, en-UK, hi-IN, ja-JP, and es-ES.

Privacy and permissions built in: Only members of a conversation can generate or view its summaries. Direct Messages (DMs) are not eligible for summarization.

How it works

1. Open a group chat conversation or a thread.

2. Click the AI Summary control in the conversation header or thread header.

3. Choose a date range. The default is the last 3 days. The maximum is 15 days.

4. Review the generated summary inline.

Date range rules

The default range covers the last 3 days, including the current day. You can select a custom range of up to 15 days.

The following rules apply:

• Future dates are not accepted. Requests with a future start date or end date are rejected.

• The end date must be on or after the start date.

• If the selected range contains no messages, the interface displays a "No messages found" state.

Permissions and security

• Only members of a conversation can generate or view its AI Summary.

• Shared links to summaries do not bypass membership checks. Non-members cannot view summaries.

• Direct Messages (DMs) are excluded from AI summarization by design. Attempting to summarize a DM returns an authorization error, and the system does not process the request.

Language and localization

Summaries are returned in each user's preferred language based on their profile settings. In multi-user conversations, the same summary content is localized per viewer.

If you change your language preference, regenerate the summary to receive it in the updated language.

Supported language variants include en-US, en-UK, hi-IN, ja-JP, and es-ES, among others.

Best practices

• Use the default 3-day range for fast daily catch-up.

• For longer or high-volume conversations, expand the range up to 15 days.

• Regenerate a summary after new messages arrive to reflect the latest state of the conversation.

Admin setup

1. Ensure AI Chat Summary is enabled in Messaging settings.

2. Confirm AI configuration and provider settings if your organization uses centralized AI governance.

3. Verify language settings and supported locales for your organization.

AI Chat Summary visibility can be enabled or disabled by an App Manager under Messaging settings. Where centralized AI governance is enabled, the feature routes through the configured provider stack with applicable policy controls.

Troubleshooting

Summary option is not visible Confirm that your App Manager has enabled AI Chat Summary in Messaging settings. Verify that you are in a group conversation or thread, not a Direct Message.

Summary returns no results Check that the conversation contains enough messages in the selected date range. Ensure the date range does not include future dates and is within the 15-day limit.

Summary is in the wrong language Open your profile settings, confirm your preferred language, and regenerate the summary.

Access denied or authorization error Verify that you are a member of the conversation. Request membership if needed. Summaries are visible to members only, and shared links do not grant access to non-members.

Date range error Ensure the end date is on or after the start date. Remove any future dates and keep the window within 15 days.

FAQs

Q: Which conversation types support AI Chat Summary?
A: Group conversations and threads. Direct Messages (DMs) are excluded by design.

Q: When does the AI Summary control appear?
A: It appears when the feature is enabled by your App Manager, you are in a supported conversation type (not a DM), and there is enough content in the selected range.

Q: Can I change the date range?
A: Yes. The default is 3 days. You can choose any range up to 15 days. Future dates and ranges that exceed the limit are rejected.

Q: Can I change the summary language?
A: The summary language follows your profile preference. If your setting is changed, regenerate to receive a localized summary.

Q: Can non-members see my conversation summaries?
A: No. Only conversation members can create or view summaries. Shared links do not grant access to non-members.

Q: What happens if I regenerate a summary after new messages are added?
A: A new summary is generated that reflects the latest state of the conversation, including any new messages.

Q: What happens if messages are edited or deleted after a summary is generated?
A: Regenerating the summary after edits or deletions produces an updated summary reflecting the current state of the conversation.

Q: Who can use Native messaging?
A: Native messaging is available for all users once enabled by the app manager.

Q: Can app managers access private groups or DMs?
A: No, unless a message is flagged for moderation.

Q: What is the maximum file size for uploads?
A: Files up to 100 MB can be uploaded.

Q: Are messages encrypted?
A: Yes, all messages are end-to-end encrypted to ensure privacy.

Q: Can I control my notifications?
A: Yes, users can customize notification preferences by going to their notification preferences.

Q: What happens to messages if an employee is deactivated?
A: Deactivated users are automatically removed from all groups they were a part of. Their private messages remain intact and accessible to the recipients, preserving the chat history.

Q: Are there any restrictions on group sizes?
A: The maximum number of groups can not be more than 500. The limit ensures optimal performance and prevents group management challenges.
Q: What is the "All Company" group?
A: The ‘all company’ group is a default group created for every organization. By default, it includes all employees and serves as a central channel for organization-wide communication.

Q: Is there a ways to audit/export all message files for org security purposes? 

A: Yes. Contact Simpplr, and we will be able to provide you a CSV export of messages if needed. This action is not available in the Simpplr UI, and app managers must request our team to export the file for your org.