When a customer sends a photo, video, voice note or file, the inbox keeps its own copy. Facebook's links to these files stop working after a while, and WhatsApp files can only be fetched with your token. The copy is private: only people who may open that chat can see it.
Where to find it
There is nothing to set up. The files show inside each chat in Admin › CRM › Inbox › Inbox.
How it works
- The customer sends a file. Meta tells your store about the message, with a link to the file (or, on WhatsApp, a file number).
- The inbox fetches it. Right after the message arrives, the panel downloads the file and stores it with your store's own files, in a folder for that chat.
- You see the copy. In the chat, the photo or file now opens from your store, not from Facebook. It keeps working after Facebook's link has expired.
- Every opening is checked. Each time someone opens the file, the panel checks that this person may open that chat. Someone else's chat counts as "not found", even with the exact link.
Example: a customer of Rangdhanu Fashion sends a photo of the dress she wants in March. In May, the seller opens the chat again to check the colour. Facebook's link no longer works, but the photo still opens from the inbox.
Good to know
- Who can open a file: the seller who has the chat, and people with Inbox — every chat. A seller cannot open files from another seller's chats.
- Files are not public. They are kept outside your website's public folder, so nobody can open them by guessing an address.
- Files your team sends (photos, voice notes, documents) are kept the same private way.
- Product photos in the inbox gallery open only for people who use the Inbox.
- Up to 25 MB. A customer's file larger than 25 MB is not copied. On Messenger and Instagram it still shows from Facebook's link while that works.
- If a copy fails (for example Facebook was slow), a Messenger or Instagram file shows from Facebook's link for as long as that link works.
- Website Live chat works the same way: files visitors send are kept private and open only through the chat.
Common problems
- An old photo does not open. It was not copied at the time (too large, or the download failed) and Facebook's link has since expired. Ask the customer to send it again.
- A seller says a file "is not found". The chat is not theirs. Move the chat to them, or open it with an office login.
Related
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