--- title: Chat Spaces sidebarTitle: Introduction description: 'Real-time group chat rooms on your portal, free, for subscribers, or paid.' audience: luminary feature: chat-spaces type: introduction availability: live last_verified: '2026-10-14' keywords: - chat spaces - group chat - chat room - real-time chat - community chat - member chat - chat with members url: 'https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/introduction' --- # Chat Spaces > Real-time group chat rooms on your portal, free, for subscribers, or paid. A Chat Space is a group chat room that lives on your portal. Members join, then talk with you and with each other in real time: they send messages, share files, reply in threads and see what you've pinned. Use it for ongoing connection between sessions, a cohort that wants to stay in touch, or a paid inner circle. You'll find chat spaces under [Offerings → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/chat-space): _"Host real-time conversations, organize topics, and engage your community."_ Chats that belong to your Community live under [Community → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/community/chat-spaces). ## When to use a chat space | If you want… | Use | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | An ongoing, real-time group conversation | A Chat Space | | A chat only your paying subscribers can join | A chat space set to Private | | To sell access to a chat on its own | A Paid chat space | | A chat for the people registered for one event | The event's [Chat Space tab](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/event-chat-space) | | A chat inside your Community, or inside one Circle | A [Community chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/community-and-circle-chat) | | Slower, threaded discussion: reflections, announcements, questions you answer | Community [Posts and Questions](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/community/introduction) | | A private one-to-one conversation with a member | [Messages](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/messages) | | A one-off update to everyone | An [announcement](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/announcements) | ### Chat spaces, Community and Messages These three are often confused. They're separate tools: | | Chat Spaces | Community (Posts, Questions) | Messages | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | | Shape | Live group chat, newest messages at the bottom | A feed of posts and questions, each with its own replies | One-to-one conversation | | Who's in it | Whoever joined that space | Everyone in your Community (or a Circle) | You and one member | | Best for | Daily connection, quick back-and-forth, a cohort's "group chat" | Reflections, announcements, questions that deserve a considered answer | Personal support and follow-up | | Can you charge for it? | Yes, per space | Through Community access or your membership | No | | Where you manage it | [Offerings → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/chat-space) or [Community → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/community/chat-spaces) | [Community → Posts](https://portal.bringsoul.life/community/posts) / Questions | Your inbox on Home | A chat space can also be _placed inside_ your Community. It's still the same chat space, but Community decides who can see it. See [Add a chat to your Community or a Circle](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/community-and-circle-chat). ## What members experience On your portal, the Chat Spaces row shows the spaces they're allowed to see. Opening one shows the room's title, description, cover image and member count. | What the member sees | When | | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Join for Free | A free space they haven't joined yet | | Join for $X | A paid space. They pay in an embedded checkout, then they're in. | | Become a Subscriber | A Private space and they aren't subscribed to your portal: _"This is a premium chat space exclusive to subscribers."_ | | Complete Payment - $X | They started paying but didn't finish | | _"This chat space is archived"_ | You archived it. They can read, but _"New messages cannot be posted."_ | | _"This community is read-only right now"_ | A Community chat while your Community is paused | | Event chat | On their ticket page for the event, once their registration is confirmed | Once inside, members can: - Write messages (up to 5,000 characters) and attach files: images, video, audio, PDF, Word documents and plain text, up to 25MB each. - Reply to a message in a thread, and edit or delete their own messages. - Read the Pinned messages at the top of the room. - Open Members to see who's there, and search the conversation. - Leave a space they joined (Leave chat space…). The exceptions are event chats and Community chats, which they can't leave. Members find the spaces they've joined under Chat spaces in their [Messages](https://bringsoul.life/inbox), next to their direct messages. See [Messages, chat and activity](https://help.bringsoul.life/members/messages-and-activity). ## Anatomy A chat space is made of three parts: 1. The space: its title, description, cover, visibility and price. 2. Members: the people who joined. You, the host, are always a member. 3. Messages: posts in the room, with optional attachments, thread replies and pins. ### Every setting You set these in the Create New Chat Space dialog, and change most of them later with Edit. | Setting | What it does | Can you change it later? | | ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Cover Image (Optional) | A 16:9 banner on the card and at the top of the room | Yes | | Title | The room's name, up to 100 characters | Yes | | Description | What the room is for. Shown on the card and under the title, up to 500 characters. | Yes | | Visibility | Who can find and join it (see below). The dialog starts on Public. | Yes, with one limit (see below) | | Pricing | Free or Paid | No: _"Pricing type cannot be changed for now"_ | | Price (USD) | What a paid space costs. Minimum $0.50. | No. Contact support. | | Billing Cycle | One-time payment, Monthly subscription or Yearly subscription | No. Contact support. | | Message digest emails | _"Send periodic message digest notifications to chat space members."_ On for new spaces. Only shown when you edit a space. | Yes | | Community scope | Community chats only: Whole community or one Circle | Only to widen it | ### Visibility | Option | What the dialog says | What it means | | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Public | _"Visible to everyone, can be joined by anyone"_ | Listed on your portal. Anyone with a Soul account can join. | | Private | _"Visible only to subscribers / members you approve"_ | Only your active portal subscribers see it and can join. Everyone else is asked to subscribe. | | Unlisted | _"Hidden from directory, accessible only via direct link"_ | Not listed anywhere. Anyone with the link can join. | Visibility and price are separate. A Private space can also be Paid, in which case subscribers still pay to join. **Warning:** You can't switch a space to Private while anyone in it isn't a subscriber. Remove those members first, or keep the space Public or Unlisted. Event chats and Community chats don't use these options. Their access comes from the event or the Community. ## Where it lives in the dashboard [Offerings → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/chat-space) lists your standalone chat spaces, with Active and Archived tabs and a search box. Each card shows its status, price and billing cycle. From a card: - Click it to open the room. - Open the card menu for Edit or Copy Link, or use the share button. Inside a room: - The header shows the visibility, price and member count. - The … menu holds Edit and Archive (or Unarchive). - Share lets you Copy Link or share to X, WhatsApp, Telegram or Email. - Members (N) opens the members drawer, where you can search members and remove someone. Other places chat spaces show up: | Where | What you'll find | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Community → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/community/chat-spaces) | Chats placed in your Community, each labelled Whole community or with its Circle's name | | [Community → Circles](https://portal.bringsoul.life/community/spaces) → a Circle | That Circle's Chat Spaces, with New Chat Space | | [Offerings → Events](https://portal.bringsoul.life/events) → an event → Chat Space tab | The chat for that event's registrants | | [My Portal → Design](https://portal.bringsoul.life/portal) | The Chat Space section and Highlights | Event chats and Community chats don't appear in [Offerings → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/chat-space). Manage them from their own page. ## Statuses | Status | Where you see it | Meaning | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | | Public / Private / Unlisted | Card and room header | The space's visibility | | Archived | Card, room header, Archived tab | Read-only. Nobody can post or join. | | Active / Archived | [Community → Chat Spaces](https://portal.bringsoul.life/community/chat-spaces) | Whether a Community chat is open | Each member in the members drawer also has a status: active, unpaid (started a paid checkout but didn't finish), left or revoked (you removed them). ## Limits and good to know - Price and billing are locked after creation. You can't switch between free and paid, or change the amount or cycle. Contact [support@bringsoul.life](mailto:support@bringsoul.life) if you need to. - Promo codes can't be used on chat spaces. - Deleting standalone chat spaces isn't available yet. Archive the space instead. See [Archive or close a chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/archive-a-chat-space). - Removed members can't rejoin. The exception is event chats: if someone re-registers for the event, their access comes back. - Threads are one level deep. You can reply to a message, but not to a reply. - Turning on the portal section is up to you. Creating a chat space doesn't switch on the Chat Space section of your portal. See [Help members find your chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/make-your-chat-space-easy-to-find). - Post first. Soul only suggests your chat space to people browsing other portals once you've written in it. Your own portal lists it either way. - Digest emails: after a burst of activity goes quiet, members get one summary email instead of a notification for every message. Community chats use your Community's notification settings instead. - If you've [blocked someone](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/community/moderate-your-community), they can't join or post in your chat spaces. ## Guides - [Start a free community chat](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/free-community-chat): An open room on your portal where anyone can join and talk. - [Give subscribers a members-only chat](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/subscribers-only-chat): A Private space included in your membership. - [Charge for access to a chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/paid-chat-space): A paid room, one-time, monthly or yearly. - [Add a chat to an event](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/event-chat-space): A chat that registrants join automatically. - [Give a course cohort a place to talk](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/course-cohort-chat): A workaround while courses don't have built-in chat. - [Add a chat to your Community or a Circle](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/community-and-circle-chat): A chat for your whole Community or one Circle. - [Run an unlisted, link-only chat](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/unlisted-invite-only-chat): A hidden room only people with the link can find. - [Moderate a chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/moderate-a-chat-space): Pin, delete messages and remove members. - [Archive or close a chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/archive-a-chat-space): Make a room read-only, or bring it back. - [Help members find your chat space](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/offerings/chat-spaces/make-your-chat-space-easy-to-find): Portal sections, Highlights and sharing.