Merge Chats - Getting Started Guide

What Merge Chats is

Merge Chats lets you combine multiple direct-message chats that belong to the same person into one conversation. This makes it easier to keep track of someone who messages you on more than one network.

Merge suggestions

Beeper may suggest chats to merge when they appear to belong to the same person.

Suggestions can be based on matching: 

• phone numbers
• email addresses
• display names with two or more words 

When chats are merged:

• The merged chat appears as a single conversation in the Inbox
• The original chats are replaced in the Inbox by the merged chat
• Messages from the merged chats appear together in one timeline

📩 Inbox behavior:

A merged chat behaves like one conversation in the Inbox:

• Unread count: the unread badge is the total from all chats in the merge
• Mark as Read: marks all chats in the merge as read
• Pinning: pins the merged chat
• Labels: apply to the merged chat

💬 Conversation view:

Inside a merged chat:

• Messages are shown together in a single timeline
• Messages are ordered mainly by timestamp
• Network indicators may appear between messages so you can tell which service a message came from

👀 Read receipts:

• Merged chats show a single combined read receipt instead of a separate receipt for each underlying chat.
  
  Because of this, the read receipt is a best-effort indicator. In some cases, it may appear slightly farther down the conversation than expected if one network has been read more recently than another.

🆕 Unread divider:

• Merged chats also show a single unread divider. It is placed above the earliest unread message across the merged chats, so unread messages are less likely to be missed.

⬆️ Sending messages:

When replying in a merged chat, Beeper may choose a default chat to send from based on recent activity.

• If the most recent message was incoming, replies go back on that same network
• If the most recent message was outgoing, Beeper may switch back to the Default Chat after some time
• You can also choose a specific chat to reply from in the composer.

💡Things to keep in mind

Merged chats are designed to make conversations easier to manage, but some details are simplified:

• unread counts are combined
• read receipts are combined
• actions like Mark as Read apply across the merged chats

That means the merged view may not always reflect the exact read state of every individual underlying chat.

How to merge your chats in Beeper

🖥️ Beeper Desktop

A. From the Inbox dropdown:

1. Click on ‘Inbox’ on the top left of your screen
2. From the menu, scroll down and select ‘Merge Chats’.
    
3. Click ‘Get Started’ and select the chats you want to merge. 
   
4. Click ‘Continue’ and then Merge Chats'.

B. From the conversation view:

1. Click on ‘Merge chats’ that appears at the top of the view, right below the chat title. This should appear in your conversation view for chats where Beeper detects the same display name, phone number, or email address

2. Follow the prompt in the window that opens and choose the chats you want to merge. Click Merge Chats.

3. Once the chat is merged, you'll see a confirmation message on the bottom left of your Beeper window. You can also choose which chat network to reply from through the avatar in the composer:

B. From the Chat Info section:

1. Open one of the chat rooms you'd like to merge
2. Click on the chat title or the (i) icon on the top left of the chat to open the chat information panel
   
3. From here, select ‘Merge Chats’.
4. Select the chats you want to merge and then click ‘Continue’. Once you're happy with your selections, click 'Confirm'.

🤖 Beeper Android

A. From the Inbox dropdown:

1. Click on Inbox from the upper left corner and select ‘Merged Chats’
2.  Click ‘Get Started’ and select the chats you want to merge. 
3. Select the chats you want to merge and then select the button on the top right to confirm
4. Once merged, you have the option to update the merged chat with a new chat name and select a default network.

B. From the conversation view:

1. Click on ‘Merge options’ that appears at the top of the view, right below the chat title. This should appear in your conversation view for chats where Beeper detects the same display name, phone number, or email address
2. Select ‘Get Started’ and select the chats you want to merge. 
3. Enter the chat name you prefer and select your default network.
4. Click on the check icon to save your merged chat.

Note: Once your chats are merged, you have the option to change the account you're replying from by tapping on the avatar in compose:

C. From Chat Info

1. Click on the chat name to view the chat information panel
2. Click on Merge Chats
3. Select the chats you want to merge. 
4. Enter the chat name you prefer and select your default network.
5. Select the check icon to save your merged chat.

Note: You can also unmerge merged chats from this section. Simply go to the chat information section, under the listed chats, select ‘Manage’, then select Unmerge. 

🍎 Beeper iOS

A. From the Inbox dropdown:

1. Click on Inbox from the upper left corner and select ‘Merged Chats’
2.  Click ‘Get Started’ and select the chats you want to merge. 
3. Select the chats you want to merge and then select ‘Next’ on the top right to confirm
4. Once merged, you have the option to update the merged chat with a new chat name and select a default network.
5. Click on the check icon to save your merged chat.

B. From the conversation view:

1. Click on ‘Merge’ that appears at the top of the view, right below the chat title. This should appear in your conversation view for chats where Beeper detects the same display name, phone number, or email address
2. Select ‘Get Started’ and select the chats you want to merge. 
3. Enter the chat name you prefer and select your default network.

C. From Chat Info

1. Click on the chat name to view the chat information panel
2. Click on Merge Chats
3. Select the chats you want to merge. 
4. Enter the chat name you prefer and select your default network.
5. Select the check icon to save your merged chat.

Note: Similar to Beeper Android, you can also unmerge merged chats from this section. Simply go to the chat information section, under Merged Chats, select ‘Manage’, then select Unmerge. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Do merged chats sync across devices?
   Yes, your Merged Chats should reflect across desktop, iOS, and Android.

🆘 Need help?

If Merge Chats isn't working as expected, please reach out to our Support Team by sending a bug report and we can take a look.

How do I report a problem?