Direct messages, groups and channels

Every new conversation starts the same way: the round + button, tooltip New conversation. What you choose next decides how the conversation behaves for the rest of its life, so it is worth a moment of thought.

The three tabs

• Direct Message — headed New Message, Start a conversation. One person, private. Confirm with Start Chat.
• Group Chat — headed New Group Chat, Chat with multiple people. A named set of people. Confirm with Create Group.
• Channel — headed Create Channel, Create a dedicated channel for your team. Confirm with Create Channel.

Group or channel?

A group is about the people. You pick who is in it, and it exists for as long as that set of people has something to talk about.

A channel is about the subject. It has a Channel Name, a description answering What is this channel for?, and a Public Channel toggle that decides whether colleagues can find and join it themselves. Channels are organisation only — there are none in your personal context.

The rule of thumb: if you would still want the conversation to exist after half the members left the team, make it a channel. If it is a specific group of people working on one thing, make it a group.

Hitaji stops you duplicating groups

If you try to create a group whose members exactly match a group you already have, Hitaji warns you before it creates anything. It is a small thing, but it is what stops teams ending up with four near-identical groups and conversations scattered across all of them. When you see that warning, the honest answer is usually to go back to the group you already have.

You can also join a conversation without creating anything — an invitation link will drop you straight in.