Start a BBM chat

Use BBM to chat in real-time with your BlackBerry contacts and know when someone has read your message. Share pictures, voice notes, your location, or other files.

Unlike text messaging, where you might pay for each text message that you send or receive regardless of how brief the message might be, BBM uses your data plan so that you can can express yourself in as many, or as few, messages as you want.

  1. Tap Contacts.
  2. Tap a contact.
  3. Type your message or select an emoticon.
  4. Press the Send key.
Tip: Have something that you want to share with multiple contacts? Send a broadcast message or start a multiperson chat to let your contacts know your news at the same time.
Parent topic: BBM

Send a file or ping someone

You can send different types of files to BBM contacts, including pictures, voice notes, your location, events, etc. When you ping someone in BBM, the other person's BlackBerry device vibrates (unless it's set to Silent) and the person sees the word PING in red.
  1. To hide the keyboard, tap anywhere in the chat history.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To attach a file, tap Attach.
    • To ping the contact, tap More actions > Ping.

Peek at your chats

While in a chat, you can quickly peek at your other chats.

  1. To hide the keyboard, tap anywhere in the chat history.
  2. Slide your finger right.
Illustration of a tap and slide on the left side of the screen, over the back icon.

Send a broadcast message

  1. Tap More actions > Send Broadcast Message.
  2. Type in the field, or tap Select Contacts to select a few contacts from your address book and tap Done.
  3. Type your message.
  4. Tap Send.

Invite others to a chat

  1. In your chat, tap Invite More. You might need to hide the keyboard to see the icon.
  2. Select some contacts.
  3. Tap Done.
Tip: To start a new chat with multiple people from your BBM contact list, touch and hold a name. Tap Select More and a few more names. Tap Start Multiperson Chat.