Messages is our own messenger inside the community. Open Messages in the menu, or tap Message on a profile — that stays on the website. You can also install Messages as its own app on a phone or PC (a Messages window that opens the inbox). Same chats, same people, same safety rules. Phone alerts use the same optional lock-screen push as swaps. This is not a separate App Store / Play Store / Microsoft Store product — Chrome, Edge, and Safari pin it like an app.
Safety (mixed-age)
- Adults can message adults; 13–17 can message 13–17. New people send a request you Accept or Decline.
- 13–17 and 18+ cannot cold-message each other. Direct chat opens only after an accepted or finished swap, or an accepted first-swap buddy — or a host.
- Hosts (Richard and Megan) are pinned at the top of Messages. You can write them without a request. They can also send one note to everyone; it shows as Everyone in the chat.
- Packing a swap still belongs on the swap thread (postage, mailed, received). Messages is for conversation.
- Money asks are blocked. Block still ends contact. Dating stays on Dating (18+).
The contact list refreshes about every 12 seconds. Search chats at the top, or filter All / People / Unread / Requests / Archived. People lists every member you can message in this window — you do not have to leave for the directory. 13–17 and 18+ still cannot cold-message each other; paused mailboxes stay off People until you already share a chat. Open a chat and tap About for city, age group, and a short bio — never a street address. Search this chat jumps through matching notes. http links in a note open in a new tab. In a group, tap a name to message that person when the safety rules allow it. Pin up to 8 chats under Hosts. Mute turns off alerts and the chime for that chat (unread still counts). Archive hides it until a new note arrives or you Unarchive. Mark unread puts a chat back on Unread and returns you to the list. An open chat looks for typing every couple of seconds, and your last message can show Seen on an accepted one-to-one chat. Offline people you already chat with can show Last seen. Block and Report sit on the thread as well as the profile. Choose Online, Away, Busy, or Invisible — Invisible looks offline. A short two-tone chime plays for a new message when Sound is on, after you have clicked the page once. Photo and Emoji sit on the compose box with Send — crop addresses before you send a picture; tap a chat photo to open it larger. Chat photos stay in that chat and do not go in the gallery. Reply under a note quotes it in the box. Enter sends; Shift+Enter is a new line. You can Edit or Unsend your own note for 15 minutes; after that it stays. A group is all 13–17 or all 18+, and hosts can join either. Voice and video calls work on an accepted one-to-one chat: both keep Messages open, tap Allow for mic/camera, and use the public https site. Incoming calls ring. Direct file sharing still goes between two browsers (not stored). Open Server for host news, small packs, and the Big library (up to 2 GB, age-banded, files hosts have the right to share). We do not run a public Matrix/Synapse network. On iPhone, Add to Home Screen from /messages/app so the icon is Penpal Messages — not the full site. Paper mail is still the heart of the community.