Say hello to DM's and GIFs on Sphere! 👋

[simon]

It’s finally here. The long awaited day. You know we had to do it! We might even have broken Google in the process. (Hi Google lawyers, this was a joke, we had nothing to do with it really )

Today goes down in history as MEGA UPDATE DAY

So, here’s the craic.

- Direct Messages (DMs) are out now on Android, iOS and Web!

We think group chat is the best. Really. I mean that’s kind of what our product is about, so you should know that already. But sometimes you just need a private 1 on 1 chat with someone in your sphere. That’s just how it goes sometimes. So we built it! Now you have options, and options are always good
The main difference between this and a secret chat is that you can start it from anywhere in your sphere and you can pick up your private conversation where you left off.

- GIFs are out on all platforms!

Whether you pronounce it jif or with a hard g, everyone loves a good gif.

- And finally, AppCore is out on Android

If you’ve been reading our weekly diary, you should know about AppCore already! If not, read this post from @anders.

Short version, AppCore is awesome, makes the app faster, more fluid and more consistent. In the future, it might even make you your morning cup of coffee. OK, I made that last part up. But the rest of it is true

So… get those apps updating and enjoy, folks!

[simon]

DM’s FAQ:

• How it works:

  You can start a DM from:

  1. By tapping on the ‘+’ button from the feed and selecting ‘Direct Message’
  2. By tapping on a person’s profile image on a chat and selecting ‘message’
  3. By tapping on an ‘@ mention’ from a chat
  4. By tapping on a person’s name in Chat Info/Sphere Info

  Can I DM myself?

  Yes, you can have a DM with yourself where you can ‘draft messages’, try out new features without having to spam others in the sphere, and even save stuff you might want to easily find later.

  Does the conversation start fresh each time, or does it continue?

  Your DM will always continue from where you left off, so you can always scroll back through your previous messages.

  Can I add people to create a group chat?

  No, you cannot add new people. The current DM solution is just 1-2-1

  Can I unfollow a DM?

  No, you cannot unfollow a DM.

  Can I mute a DM?

  Yes, you can mute a DM in the same way you mute a group chat, either by going to ‘chat info’ or ‘long pressing’ from the feed

  Can I delete a DM?

  No, you cannot delete a DM

  Can I remove a DM from my feed?

  No, you cannot remove a DM from your feed. It will drop down your feed as other chats receive new messages.

  Are there any other differences between a Group Chat & DM, in terms of functionality?

  Apart from ‘adding more people’, anything you can do in a Group Chat you can do in a DM, this includes polls/announcements.

[simon]

GIFs FAQ:

On iOS:

• Tap the ‘GIF’ button in the ‘typing bar’ at the bottom of the chat
• This will open up the GIPHY search window
• Search for something
• Tap the GIF
• It will instantly send into the chat

On Android:

Most Android devices now have GIF support built into the keyboard. So look for the GIF icon on your keyboard when typing a message in Sphere, then search for a GIF and tap on it. It’ll get inserted straight into the chat!

Can I send a caption alongside a GIF?

No, the GIF will send instantly into the chat when tapping it.

Can I reply to a message with a GIF?

Yes! If you tap reply/swipe to reply on a message, you can then tap the ‘GIF’ button

Can I open the GIFs in full screen?

Yes! When they send, you can tap them and it will open the GIF so you can see more of the detail.

Can I share a GIPHY link in the chat from an external website?

No, at this point it will not automatically play the GIF

[simon]

Update - GIFs are now live on Android!!!

[simon]

Another quick update - GIF support is now enabled on Web!