Group chats are great — until they're not. Plans buried under memes. Important decisions lost in a thread of 300 messages. The same question asked three times because nobody scrolled back far enough to see the answer.
SimpliHome Circle Chat is built specifically for households. Shared threads, direct messages, reactions, and file sharing — all in a space that only your Circle can see, searchable forever, and actually organised.
#Accessing Circle Chat
Open the SimpliHome app and tap Chat in the navigation.
You'll land on the Threads list — a view of every conversation your Circle has active. Each thread shows the most recent message, who sent it, and when.
#Types of Conversation
SimpliHome supports two types of chat:
Group threads — conversations with some or all of your Circle members. Ideal for household-wide topics: "What's everyone doing this weekend?", "Who needs a lift to football?", "Is anyone picking up the dry cleaning?"
Direct messages — private one-to-one conversations with a specific Circle member. These create or reopen a dedicated thread between just the two of you.
#Starting a New Conversation
#New group thread
- Tap the compose icon (top right of the Chat screen)
- Choose New Group
- Select the Circle members you want to include
- Give the thread a name (e.g., "Weekend Plans", "Home Improvements", "School Run")
- Tap Create
You're now in the thread and can start messaging immediately.
#Direct message
- Tap the compose icon
- Choose a Circle member from the list
- SimpliHome opens an existing direct thread with that person, or creates one if it doesn't yet exist
#Sending Messages
Type your message in the text field at the bottom and tap Send.
Messages are delivered in real time — recipients see them appear instantly without refreshing.
Sending photos or files:
Tap the attachment icon next to the text field to attach an image or file from your device. The file uploads alongside your message.
#Reactions
Rather than sending a reply just to say "👍", you can react to any message.
Long-press (or tap and hold) a message to bring up the reaction picker. Tap any emoji to add your reaction. The emoji appears below the message alongside a count.
Everyone in the thread can see who reacted with what — tap the reaction to see the list.
Reactions are a useful shorthand in household conversations:
- 👍 — "Yes / confirmed / I'll do it"
- ✅ — "Done"
- ❤️ — "Noted / thanks"
- 😂 — "Haha"
#Loading Older Messages
Threads load the most recent messages first. To see earlier messages, scroll up in the conversation — SimpliHome loads older messages automatically as you reach the top.
#Archiving a Thread
Completed projects, seasonal planning, one-off events — some threads outlive their usefulness. Rather than deleting them (and losing the history), archive them.
To archive a thread:
- Open the thread
- Tap the ••• menu (top right)
- Choose Archive
Archived threads disappear from the main list but remain accessible if you need to refer back. You can un-archive them at any time.
#Managing a Thread (Group Owner)
If you created a group thread, you're the thread owner and can:
- Edit the thread name — tap the thread name at the top → Edit
- Add participants — tap the ••• menu → Add Members → select Circle members to add
- Archive or delete the thread — via the ••• menu
#Deleting Messages
Made a typo or sent something to the wrong thread? You can delete individual messages.
- Long-press your own message
- Tap Delete
- Confirm
Deleted messages are removed for all participants.
Note: you can only delete your own messages unless you're a Circle Admin, who can delete any message.
#Typing Indicators
When someone else is typing a reply, you'll see a "… is typing" indicator at the bottom of the thread. This keeps conversations feeling live without the awkwardness of double-sending.
#Read Receipts
SimpliHome marks your messages as read once the other participants have opened the thread. You can see unread message counts on each thread in the Chat list.
#Chat on Mobile
The SimpliHome mobile app adds several chat features that go beyond what's available in the browser:
#Push notifications
New messages arrive as push notifications on your lock screen and notification centre — even when the app is closed. Tap a notification to jump directly into the thread.
To control which chats notify you:
- Open the thread
- Tap the ••• menu → Notifications
- Choose All messages, Mentions only, or Off
Turn off notifications for high-volume threads (like a large family group) while keeping alerts on for direct messages and high-priority threads.
#Notification badge
The SimpliHome app icon shows a badge count — the total number of unread messages across all your active threads. The Chat tab in the navigation also shows a badge so you know at a glance whether anything needs your attention.
#Sharing media from other apps
You can share photos, screenshots, and files from any other app directly into a SimpliHome chat thread using the native share sheet.
On iPhone:
- Open the photo or file in any app
- Tap Share → scroll to SimpliHome
- Choose the thread to send it to
- Tap Send
On Android:
- Open the file or image
- Tap Share → select SimpliHome
- Choose the thread and confirm
This is useful for quickly sharing a receipt photo, a screenshot of a booking confirmation, or a document that needs a household decision — without switching apps to upload it first.
#Tips for Getting the Most From Circle Chat
Use named threads for ongoing topics. A thread called "House Extension" keeps all the contractor quotes, planning permission notes, and decision trail in one place. Searching for it months later is straightforward.
Keep direct messages for private conversations. If you need to discuss a surprise party, a financial concern, or something you don't want all household members to see — use a direct message.
React rather than reply for acknowledgements. A thumbs-up takes half a second. A "sounds good!" reply creates noise in threads that might have many participants.
Don't use chat for time-sensitive reminders. Chat messages are great for conversation, but if you need someone to actually remember something at a specific time — add it as a Calendar event or assign it as a Task. Reminders work better in those features than buried in a chat thread.
Pin or name threads that matter long-term. A thread about "Home Insurance 2026" is worth keeping named so it's easy to find when renewal comes around.
#Circle Chat vs WhatsApp (or iMessage)
If your family already uses WhatsApp or a group iMessage — why switch?
A few reasons:
| | SimpliHome Chat | WhatsApp / iMessage | |---|---|---| | Household context | ✅ Tied to Circle members and data | ❌ Generic contacts | | File sharing with vault | ✅ Files stay in SimpliHome | ❌ Files expire or scatter | | Organised threads by topic | ✅ Multiple named threads | ❌ One group, everything mixed | | Searchable within your Circle | ✅ | Limited | | No phone number required | ✅ Works with email login | ❌ |
You don't have to choose one or the other — most families use SimpliHome Chat for household planning and keep WhatsApp for social chat with friends. The key is that household decisions, files, and shared plans live where the rest of your household management lives.
#Who Can Use Chat
| Circle role | Start group thread | Send direct message | Add members | Delete any message | |---|---|---|---|---| | Admin | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Family | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Own only | | Relatives | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | Own only | | Friends | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | Own only |
Relatives and Friends can message directly but cannot create or join group threads unless added by an Admin.
#Getting Your Household to Actually Use It
The biggest barrier to any new communication tool is inertia — everyone's already comfortable with what they use. A few things that help:
Start with one shared thread and get everyone to join before adding more. "Family Chat" is fine as a first thread.
Use it for something that obviously benefits from being centralised — weekend plans, a home improvement project, holiday prep. Once people see the value of a conversation that doesn't get buried, it becomes the default.
Don't try to replace personal messaging. SimpliHome Chat isn't a general-purpose messenger — it's household coordination. Frame it that way.