Start a chat Skip Navigation

Start a chat

You can chat in real time with your contacts and know when someone has read your message. Share pictures, voice notes, your location, and other files. You can use the Search chat feature to find specific text in a chat.
To start a chat in 
BBM Enterprise
, a passphrase must be shared between you and your contact. By default, this passphrase is shared automatically, and you aren't prompted for a passphrase.
  1. On the 
    Chats
     screen, tap The New message icon.
  2. Tap a contact.
  3. Type your message.
  4. To add an emoji or sticker to your message, tap The Smile icon.
To go to the newest unread message in a chat, tap 
New Messages
.

Add a picture or file to a chat

For information about sharing files from apps on 
iOS
 devices, see Share a document from an app in the documentation from 
Apple
.
  1. In a chat, do one of the following: 
    • Tap The Drop-down icon > The Image icon. Browse to and select one or more photos. Tap 
      Done
      .
    • Tap The Camera icon
      >
      Photo
      . Take a picture.
  2. Select one of the following options:
    • HD Quality
      : The image may take longer to send and will use more data. 
    • Average quality
      : The image will take less time to send and use less data.
    • Low quality
      : The image takes the least time to send and uses the least data.
    The image quality that you select is saved as the default setting in the device Settings.
  3.  Tap or click The Send icon.
To comment on a picture, in a chat, tap a picture. In the field at the bottom of the screen, type a comment.
To view all the pictures or files in a chat, at the top of the screen, tap the contact name. Tap 
Pictures
 or 
Files
.

Send pictures or files

Depending on your device, some features might not be available.
  1. Tap The attach icon.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To attach a file, select one of the options.
    • To take a picture, tap The camera icon. Select
      Camera
      .
    • To record a video, tap The camera icon. Select
      Video
      .
    • To record and send a voice note, tap The voice note icon.

Share your real-time or static location

You can can share your static or real-time location in a chat. Chat participants receive a prompt to view your location on a map. When you share your location, you set an expiry time to control how long your location is shared.
  1. In a chat, tap at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Tap .
  3. Do one of the following:
    Task
    Steps
    Share your real-time location.
    1. Tap
      Share my real-time location
      .
    2. Set the time that you want to share your location for.
    3. Tap
      OK
      .
    4. If you are prompted, grant permission to share your location.
    If you want to extend the sharing period, you can tap
    Update
    in the chat notification. Change the
    Share my real-time location
    period and tap
    OK
    , or tap
    Stop
    to end location sharing.
    Share your static location.
    1. Tap
      Share a location
      .
    2. Tap .
    3. If you are prompted, grant permission to share your location.
    4. Tap
      Send location
      .
    A notification that you are sharing your location is added to the chat on your device. The recipient receives a notification that you have shared your location.
  4. If you want to extend the sharing period, you can tap
    Update
    in the chat notification. Change the
    Share until
    period and tap OK, or tap
    Stop
    to end location sharing.
You can tap at the top of the screen to view a list of the contacts that are sharing their locations. Tap an entry to view the map. In the map, you can switch between map, satellite, and hybrid views and zoom in or zoom out.