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Messages

Message the people in your Orbit who are on Orbit too. Chats are private to the people in them.

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Open Messages

  • iPhone: tap the paper plane next to Invite at the top of the Orbit chat page
  • Mac and web: click Messages in the sidebar
A badge shows how many chats have unread messages.

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Start a chat

  1. Tap the compose button
  2. Search your Orbit and tap a person to open your chat with them
  3. To start a group, tap New group on iPhone (on Mac and web, just pick more than one person), add a name if you like, and tap Create on iPhone or Start group on Mac and web
You can also tap Message on the profile of anyone in your Orbit who’s on Orbit. Only people who are on Orbit show up. For anyone else, use Invite someone to Orbit — you can message them here once they join.

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Requests

If someone messages you and they aren’t in your Orbit yet, the chat lands in Requests. They can’t see whether you’ve read it until you accept.
  • Accept to move it to your inbox and reply
  • Delete to remove it
  • Block to stop them messaging you

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In a chat

  • The top of the chat shows the person’s photo, name, and whether they’re Active now or when they were last seen. Tap it to open their profile.
  • Ticks show when a message is sent, delivered, and read. In groups, you’ll see who has seen it.
  • See when someone is typing.
  • Send photos, files, and voice messages (voice recording is on iPhone).
  • React with an emoji, and swipe a message (or use Reply) to quote it.
  • Edit a message for 15 minutes after you send it. Delete for everyone removes your message from the chat; Delete for me just hides it from you.
  • Mute a chat for an hour, 8 hours, a week, or until you turn it back on. Pin the chats you use most and archive the rest.
On iPhone, reply straight from a notification without opening the app.

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Orbit helps you write

When a chat is new or has gone quiet, Orbit shows what it knows about the person — how you know them and what you last talked about — and offers a starting point:
  • Warm — friendly and personal
  • Brief — short and to the point
  • Ask — gets to your question
Orbit drafts the message into the box. Nothing sends until you tap send. On iPhone, the bottom of your inbox suggests People you’ve drifted from with a note ready to go. You can also ask Orbit in chat — “who have I drifted from?” or “draft a note to Sam to catch up”. When the person is on Orbit, the draft has Open in Messages, which puts it in your chat with them. It still won’t send until you tap send.

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Intros become group chats

When someone asks you for an intro and you accept:
  • If the person you’re introducing is on Orbit, ask them in Messages. If they say yes, Orbit starts a group with all three of you. You can step out whenever you like and leave them to it.
  • If they aren’t on Orbit yet, your note includes an invite link (it uses one of your invites). When they join, the group of three starts automatically.
See Find a warm intro for asking for one.

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Privacy

In Settings → Privacy & security you can turn off Share last seen and Read receipts. Turn either off and you won’t see other people’s either.