Spun Chat
At a glance
| Location | Sidebar → Spun Chats (MessagesSquare icon) |
| Plan | All plans, including the free tier |
| Related features | 9 |
Spun Chats is the built-in messaging platform - separate from WhatsApp. No WhatsApp connection needed. Free tier users get Spun Chats with free messaging and a free AI token allowance. Features include direct messages between users, group chats, message reactions, typing indicators, voice messages with auto-transcription, shared chat links to reference customer conversations, cross-org connections, and per-viewer translation. Spun Chat access can be toggled per user via the Share Wizard. The sidebar tab was previously called "Team" or "Internal" - it is now called "Spun Chats". Attachments: up to 10 files per message, 100 MB per file by default (an org can change its own limit), 250 MB per message in total. Files are checked when the message is sent: browser-executable types (HTML, SVG, executables, scripts like.bat or.ps1) are refused; images, video, audio and real PDFs open inline; every other type is delivered as a plain download so it can never run in the browser. If an attachment sits unsent for more than 24 hours it expires and must be attached again. Deleting a message also deletes the files that were attached to it, so their links stop working; deleting an organization removes all of its Spun Chat attachment files as well. A file that was sent into a shared conversation is removed for everyone in that conversation. Forwarding a Spun Chat message into another Spun Chat carries its attachments too: the files are copied into the new message rather than linked, so deleting either message leaves the other one intact. If the message has both text and files, "Forward without text" on the message menu sends only the files. Forwarding a Spun Chat message into a WhatsApp chat still sends the text only. Channel default: when a contact is reachable on both WhatsApp and Spun Chat, opening them from the chat list lands on whichever channel holds the newest message - an unread message on exactly one of the two wins first. Switching channels from the header switcher is a visit, not a preference: it never changes which channel that contact opens on next time. To lock a contact to one channel, use the pin icon beside WhatsApp or Spun in the channel switcher; a pinned contact always opens on the pinned channel until it is unpinned. Pictures, location and polls: choosing an image opens the editor before it is sent, so it can be cropped, annotated, given a caption, or joined by more pictures; the caption is sent as the message text. A picture pasted into the composer opens the same editor, and a picture already attached can be tapped to open the editor again on it, with the edited picture taking its place in the same order. The attach menu also shares a location, which arrives as a map card that opens in Google Maps, and creates a poll, which arrives as a card everyone in the conversation votes on in place. Poll results update live for everyone as votes come in. A single-choice poll changes a vote by picking another option, and withdraws it by tapping the chosen option again; a multiple-choice poll accepts up to the number of answers the poll allows. Locations and polls also read as plain text wherever a card cannot be drawn, such as the chat list preview and push notifications. Contacts start unpinned. One thread per person: a contact you talk to on WhatsApp and on Spun Chat is one row in the chat list and one conversation, with the Spun messages shown alongside the WhatsApp ones and the channel picker choosing which composer is open; a WhatsApp chat whose identity was worked out rather than confirmed keeps its Spun, SMS and email channels aside until the link is confirmed, and the first Spun message through such a link asks one extra question naming the person before it is sent. Group chats keep their own screen. Composing: messages carry the same inline formatting as WhatsApp (bold, italic, strikethrough, monospace) from the same toolbar with a live preview, a group message can @mention any member of the conversation, and a character counter appears on a long draft. The composer also offers saved message templates whose variables are filled in from the org's own saved contact for the person on the other side (falling back to their Spun account name, and filling in nothing in a group), semantic quick-reply suggestions, and a preview card for a link while it is still being typed. A message can also be scheduled for later from the + menu. Voice: the Spun recorder is the WhatsApp recorder, with a live waveform, slide to cancel, slide to lock, pause and resume, and a preview before the note is sent. A voice note that arrives can be transcribed again, transcribed with a different speech engine, told which language it is in, and have its transcript translated with the translated voice played back. Reading a thread: opening a conversation with unread messages draws a New messages line above the first message not yet read, placed from that reader's own position in the conversation. Several pictures sent together arrive as one album, and opening any picture steps through the whole set. A contact sent into the conversation arrives as a card with the name and number, which can be saved to contacts or opened as a conversation with that person on Spun or on WhatsApp, following the same channel rules as the switcher. A link in a received message shows a preview of the page. Message actions: a Spun message's menu carries star, pin, private note, calendar event, save as opportunity, report, reply privately, the full reaction picker, and retry or cancel for a send that failed. One message can be pinned per conversation and pinning another replaces it; a star is private to the person who set it. Messages can also be multi-selected for bulk actions. The thread header shows whether the other person is active, offers a wallpaper for the conversation, and can export the whole conversation as a CSV file. A conversation can be marked read silently, without telling the other side. The conversation's side panel carries a Media and links section with a gallery of everything shared in that conversation, the scheduled messages still waiting to go out, and, once the person is saved as a contact, the same contact sections a WhatsApp chat has: labels, pipeline, balances, contact intelligence, similar cases, chat events and groups in common. With nobody saved behind the conversation the panel offers a single line to save them as a contact and unlock those sections. Starred messages from Spun conversations appear in their own private Starred section.
How to use
- Open Spun Chats from the sidebar (MessagesSquare icon) or switch to the Spun Chats tab in the chat list.
- Start a conversation with a colleague or cross-org connection.
- Send text or voice messages.
- Share chat links to reference WhatsApp customer conversations.
- Use the attach menu (paperclip) for a picture (it opens an editor first, where you can crop, annotate and add a caption), a location, or a poll.
- Tap an option on a poll card to vote, and tap your chosen option again to withdraw it.
- For a contact who is on both WhatsApp and Spun, use the channel switcher in the conversation header to move between them, and click the pin icon next to a channel to make that contact always open there (click it again to unpin and go back to following the newest message).
- Use the formatting toolbar for bold, italic, strikethrough and monospace, and type @ in a group to mention a member.
- Press / in the composer for quick replies and templates.
- Hold the mic button to record a voice note, slide left to cancel or up to lock, and preview it before sending.
- Open a message's more menu to star, pin, note, report, react, reply privately, or retry a failed send, and open Starred from the sidebar to find starred Spun messages again.
- Open the side panel for the conversation's media and links, its scheduled messages, and (once the person is saved as a contact) labels, pipeline, balances and contact intelligence.
- Use the header menu to set a wallpaper or export the conversation as CSV.
Related features
- Team Members
- Share Access (Share Wizard)
- Sprint Mode
- Cross-Org Connections
- Voice-to-Voice Translation
- Alarms / Reminders
- Scheduled Messages
- Starred Messages
- AI Translate
FAQ
- How do I message my team?
- Where is Spun Chat?
- How to use Spun Chats?
- Can I use Spun without WhatsApp?
- Is Spun Chat free?
- Where did the Team tab go?
- What happened to internal chat?
- Why does a contact open on WhatsApp instead of Spun?
- How do I make a contact always open on Spun Chat?
- How do I pin a contact to one channel?
- How do I unpin a channel?
- How do I send a location in Spun Chat?
- How do I create a poll?
- How do I vote in a poll?
- How do I change or remove my poll vote?
- Can I crop or annotate a picture before sending it?
- How do I add a caption to a picture?
- How do I make text bold in Spun Chat?
- How do I mention someone in a Spun group?
- How do I use a template in Spun Chat?
- How do I schedule a Spun Chat message?
- How do I record a voice note in Spun Chat?
- How do I star or pin a Spun Chat message?
- Where do I find what was shared in a Spun conversation?
- How do I export a Spun Chat conversation?
- Can I set a wallpaper for a Spun conversation?
- How do I read a Spun message without the sender knowing?
- What is the New messages line?