# Internal Chat Overview (Desktop App)

Internal Chat is the built-in instant messaging (IM) tool in the Cloud Voice App. Use it to hold a private one-to-one conversation or a group discussion with coworkers, and bring those conversations to life with emojis, images, and shared files. Because chat lives inside the same app you use for calls, your team can coordinate without switching to a separate messaging tool.

## What the chat looks like

The messaging workspace lives alongside your other Cloud Voice App tools, so you can switch between calls and conversations without leaving the app.

![The Cloud Voice App desktop chat workspace with a conversation list and an open thread](/images/pbx/preview-linkus-desktop-client-chat.png)

## Requirements

Before you can use Internal Chat, confirm that your environment meets all of the following:

**Cloud Voice platform**

- Server version: 84.12.0.32 or later
- Plan: Enterprise Plan or Ultimate Plan

**Cloud Voice App (desktop)**

- Windows: version 1.2.14 or later
- macOS: version 1.2.10 or later

:::caution
Every requirement above must be met. If the server is older than 84.12.0.32, the subscription is not on the Enterprise or Ultimate Plan, or the desktop app is out of date, Internal Chat will not appear in the app. Check all of these before spending time troubleshooting a "missing" chat feature.
:::

## Limits

Keep these ceilings in mind as you chat and collaborate:

- Group chat size: up to 200 members
- Group chats you can create: up to 100 per user
- File size per share: up to 100 MB
- Chat history retention: up to 1 year

:::caution
The file and group limits are hard limits. A file larger than 100 MB will not send, and a group chat cannot grow past 200 members. If a share or an invite fails, check the size or member count against these numbers first.
:::

:::note
Chat history is kept for up to one year. Messages and shared files older than that are cleared automatically, so download anything you need to keep for the long term (for example, a signed document) before it ages out.
:::

## What you can do

- **One-to-one and group chats**: Reach a single colleague privately or spin up a group thread to coordinate with a team.
- **Notifications on your terms**: Turn pop-up alerts and sounds for new messages on or off to match how you like to work.
- **History that follows you**: Conversations sync automatically across every Cloud Voice App client, so the same messages and files are waiting for you whether you open the app on the web or on your phone.
- **More than text**: Send messages and emojis, share files and pictures, or start an audio or video call from within a conversation in a single click.

:::note
Your chat history is stored on the Cloud Voice platform, not just on this computer. That is why signing in to the Cloud Voice App on the web or on a mobile device shows the same conversations and files, with no manual sync step.
:::