Welcome to uChat, the universal messaging system built directly into the Mallnline platform. Whether you are consulting with a Malet Owner about a product, requesting support regarding a recent Murchase, or just mingling with fellow Visitors in the Lobby, uChat ensures your conversations remain lightning fast and mathematically private.

Privacy by Default (End-to-End Encryption)

uChat isn't just a standard chat box. It is a fully decentralized, End-to-End Encrypted (E2EE) messenger built on the open-source Matrix protocol.

What does this mean for you?

• Zero-Knowledge Architecture: Mallnline routing servers only process scrambled ciphertext. They cannot mathematically read, scan, or monetize the contents of your messages.
• You Hold the Keys: Your browser is assigned a persistent cryptographic identity. The messages are unlocked directly on your device.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: Whether you're sending personal information or finalizing Murchase details, your private data is safe.

Conversation Types

uChat is designed to flexibly accommodate different types of connections depending on what you're doing in the virtual mall.

1. Direct Messaging

Want to ask a question before committing items to your uCart? A DIRECT conversation opens a 1-on-1 thread between you and a specific Malet Owner. This replaces the need to send emails and wait days for a response.

If you've already chatted with someone before, starting a new direct message will automatically reopen the existing thread — keeping your conversation history intact instead of creating duplicate threads.

2. Dedicated Support

When an issue arises with a Murchase, you can open a SUPPORT thread. This keeps your chat organized strictly around that specific transaction. It also anonymizes your identity using our Support Proxy system to help protect your real email or phone number until you explicitly decide to share it.

3. Group Threads

A GROUP conversation empowers larger collaborations, whether engaging with a Malet Owner's broader expert team or forming an event-planning chat before checking out.

4. Meeting at the Mall (Social Commerce)

Mallnline isn't just a directory—it's a living virtual Mall. The SOCIAL conversation category allows Visitors to interact with other Visitors instead of just Malet Owners.

This enables unique experiences:

• Lobby Chat: Public rooms dedicated to specific categories or verticals.
• Interest Matches: Optionally see who else is browsing the same Malet as you, and say hello!
• Review Threads: Reach out to someone who wrote a detailed product review to ask them for their recommendation.

Chat Bubble on Malet Pages

When you visit any Malet storefront while logged in, you'll notice a floating chat bubble in the bottom-right corner. This bubble gives you instant access to a support conversation with that Malet Owner — no need to navigate away from the page.

Tap the bubble to expand it into a compact chat drawer. Your conversation is automatically tied to that specific Malet, so the Malet Owner knows exactly which storefront you're asking about.

Your Message Inbox

All your conversations are accessible from a single place: your Message Inbox at /profile/inbox. You can get there by tapping the message icon 💬 in the top navigation bar (between the uCart icon and the notification bell).

The inbox features:

• Type filters — View All conversations, or filter by Support, Direct, Group, or Social
• Unread badges — See at a glance which conversations have new messages
• Split-pane view — Click a conversation on the left to read and reply on the right

A badge on the navigation icon shows your total unread count across all conversations.

Typing Indicators

When someone you're chatting with starts typing, you'll see an animated "typing…" indicator appear at the bottom of the message area. Three gentle bouncing dots let you know a reply is on its way.

Your typing is also shown to the other participant, creating a naturally conversational feel.

Read Receipts

On messages you send, look for small check marks next to the timestamp:

• ✓ (single check) — Your message has been sent
• ✓✓ (double check, highlighted) — Your message has been read by the recipient

Deleting Messages

Sent a message by mistake? Hover over any message you've sent and click the 🗑 trash icon that appears to delete it.

Deleted messages are replaced with a subtle "This message was deleted" notice for all participants. The original content is permanently hidden — neither you nor the recipient can recover it.

Sending Attachments

Tap the paperclip icon next to the message input to attach files. You can also drag and drop a file directly into the conversation.

Supported formats include images, PDFs, documents, and text files up to 25 MB. Your file is encrypted on your device before uploading — the server never sees the original content.

Each attachment appears as a styled file card in the conversation, showing the file name, size, and a download button. When a recipient clicks download, the file is decrypted directly on their device.

Emoji Reactions

Express how you feel about a message without typing a reply. Hover over any message to reveal a quick-reaction bar with six popular emoji: ❤️ 👍 😂 😮 😢 🔥

• Tap an emoji to react instantly — your reaction appears as a badge below the message.
• One reaction per person — if you change your mind, tap a different emoji and it replaces the previous one.
• Toggle off — tap the same emoji again to remove your reaction entirely.

Reactions appear in real time for all participants in the conversation — no need to refresh.

Editing Messages

Made a typo? Hover over a message you sent and click the ✏️ edit icon. Your message input transforms into edit mode:

1. Modify your text.
2. Click Save to confirm, or Cancel to discard.

After editing, an (edited) label appears next to the timestamp. Only you can see the edit history — recipients simply see the latest version.

Replying to Messages

Need to reference a specific message in a conversation? Hover over any message to reveal the action bar, then click the ↩ reply icon on the right side.

A reply preview bar appears above the message input showing who you're replying to and a snippet of their message. Type your response and hit Send — your message will include a quoted block showing the original context.

How it works

• Reply to anyone — you can reply to your own messages or messages from other participants.
• Quoted context — the original message text (or "Attachment" for file messages) is shown inside your reply bubble.
• Cancel a reply — click the ✕ button on the reply preview bar to go back to sending a normal message.
• Deleted originals — if the message you replied to is later deleted, the quote block shows "This message was deleted" instead.
• Works with encryption — replied-to messages are decrypted on your device, just like regular messages.

Conversation Persistence

When you open a conversation, your browser remembers which thread you're viewing. If you refresh the page, uChat automatically reopens the same conversation — no need to find it again in the list.

If you share a uChat link with a ?conv= parameter and the conversation doesn't belong to the recipient, they'll be silently redirected to the clean uChat inbox with no error.

Seamless Search and Discovery

When starting a conversation, the uChat interface provides a robust real-time participant lookup tool. You can search for Malet Owners or fellow public Visitors using their:

• Username
• Display Name
• Email Address
• Phone Number

We enforce strict privacy guards during searches, so you will never accidentally expose your alias or private contact details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my chat history sync across devices? Yes. As long as you log into your Mallnline account, we securely manage key exchanges so that your verified devices can securely decrypt historical interactions.

Can Malet Owners see when I read their messages? Read receipts and presence indicators are supported, but entirely configurable under your Account Privacy settings.

Where can I find all my conversations? Visit your Message Inbox — accessible from the 💬 icon in the top navigation bar.

Can I react with any emoji? The quick-bar offers six popular choices, but you can tap the + button to type or paste any standard Unicode emoji.

Can multiple people react to the same message? Yes! Each person can leave one reaction per message. All reaction badges stack below the message bubble with counts.

What happens if my connection drops while chatting? uChat uses multiple delivery mechanisms to ensure your messages always arrive. If the real-time connection is interrupted, the system automatically falls back to a polling mechanism that checks for new messages every few seconds. When the connection is restored, the real-time channel resumes and polling stops — all seamlessly in the background.

I saw a "Message service is temporarily unavailable" error. What should I do? This occasionally happens during brief service interruptions. The error will automatically dismiss after a few seconds. Simply try sending your message again — it should go through on the next attempt.

Can Malet Owners see my real name in support conversations? No — when you open a SUPPORT conversation, the platform assigns you a pseudo-anonymous alias (e.g., "Customer-A7x3B"). You can choose to share your real contact info if needed. Learn more in our Support Anonymity & Contact Sharing guide.

Related

• Support Anonymity & Contact Sharing — How your identity is protected in support conversations

• Identity Badges & Rep Sigils — How sender names and handles are displayed across the platform

• Understanding Notification Delivery — How uChat message alerts integrate with the notification system

• Privacy, Data & Cookies — Manage your encryption keys and read receipt preferences

• Link Previews in uChat — How URL previews work in encrypted conversations

• Understanding Online Presence — Learn how the green presence indicator works and how to manage your visibility.

• Sending Voice Messages in uChat — Learn how to record and send voice messages.

• Searching uChat Messages — How to find past messages using the built-in privacy-preserving search.