Group business overview
Group chat is a common multi-user communication method in instant messaging apps, typically involving two or more users. RC’s group business supports rich group member management, mute management, offline message push, and historical message roaming. It’s ideal for interest groups, work groups, and customer service communication.
Key points of group business:
- The instant messaging service only delivers messages to all group members. It doesn’t maintain group member profiles (avatars, names, member cards, etc.) by default. If you need to host group and member profiles on RC, enable the service in the developer console under
IM Service - Information Hosting Service - Feature Settingsto use the provided group management features. - Without RC’s information hosting service, group management operations like creating, disbanding, joining, or leaving a group must be performed via the App server using RC’s server API. The instant messaging client SDK doesn’t provide these methods. See Group Management Features below.
- RC’s information hosting service offers new group management capabilities, supporting both server API and client SDK for group management.
- There’s no limit to the number of groups that can be created under an App Key, with a maximum of 3000 members per group.
- Individual users can join an unlimited number of groups.
- Enable Cloud Storage for One-to-One and Group Messages from the console’s Chat pricing plans page to use RC’s message storage service for message history roaming. Available for IM Premium Plan or IM Ultimate Plan. For details on features and pricing, refer to the Billing Documentation.
Service configuration
Some basic and premium features of the group business can be enabled and configured in the console’s Basic Features and Chat pricing plans pages. To host group and member profiles on RC, enable the service in the developer console under IM Service - Information Hosting Service - Feature Settings.
Client SDK notes
tip
- Only Global IM UIKit provides out-of-the-box group chat UI components. IMLib doesn’t provide these components. Global IM UIKit relies on IMLib, so it inherits all IMLib capabilities.
- Groups created via the information hosting service support group management through the client SDK, available from SDK version 5.12.0.
- For groups not created via the information hosting service, the client SDK doesn’t provide group management APIs. Group management must be handled by the App server using RC’s server API (Server API). Alternatively, you can import existing groups into the information hosting service via the server API to enable client SDK group management.
Group management features
By default, RC doesn’t host user information or manage group business logic, so all group business logic must be implemented on the App server. Without RC’s information hosting service, features like group owner, admin, announcements, invitations, and group ID search are part of the group business logic and must be implemented on the App side. If you want to host group and member profiles on RC, enable user information hosting.
tip
- When using the information hosting service, group members receive operation status notifications (e.g., group creation, joining, invitations, removals, exits, disbanding, adding/removing admins, transferring ownership) via messages, which count toward group message distribution and downstream data statistics.
- For groups created without hosting, you must call the “Import Group Hosting Data” API to set the group owner and default permissions before using group hosting features.
The table below lists the non-hosted group management APIs provided by the instant messaging server. Note that group management must be handled by the App server using RC’s server API (Server API). After enabling the information hosting service, the client SDK can provide management APIs for hosted groups.
| Feature category | Description | RC Server API |
|---|---|---|
| Create, disband groups | Provide the creator’s user ID, group ID, and group name to request group creation from RC. Disbanding a group removes all member relationships. | Create Group, Disband Group |
| Join, leave groups | After joining a group, members can view new messages sent after joining. Leaving a group stops receiving new messages from the group. | Join Group, Quit Group |
| Modify group information | Modify group information used in RC’s push service. | Refresh Group Information |
| Query group members | Query the user IDs of all members in a specified group. | Query Group Members |
| Query user’s groups | Query all groups a user has joined based on their user ID, returning group IDs and names. RC doesn’t store group profile information, so group profiles and member information must be maintained on the App server. Use this API to verify discrepancies. | Query User’s Groups |
| Sync user’s groups | Sync all groups a user has joined with RC to ensure consistency. If your App server already has group and member data before integrating RC, use this API to sync existing user-group relationships. | Sync User’s Groups |
| Mute a user | Mute one or more users in a specified group or all groups. Muted users can receive and view group messages but can’t send messages via the client SDK. | Mute a User |
| Mute all | Mute all members in a group. Muted group members can’t send messages. To allow certain users to send messages, add them to the group’s mute whitelist. | Mute All |
| Mute whitelist | Users in the mute whitelist can send messages in a muted group. | Mute Exceptions |
Group message features
Group message features are similar to one-to-one chat, sharing some APIs and configurations.
| Feature | Description | Client API | RC Server API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send message | Send text, images, GIFs, or custom messages. Supports @ mentions when sending messages. | Send Message | Send Group Message |
| Send targeted message | Send messages to specified group members. Other members won’t receive the message. | Send Group Targeted Message | Send Group Targeted Message |
| Receive message | Listen and receive messages in real-time or receive offline messages when the client is online. | Receive Message | N/A |
| Read receipt | Send a read receipt request to track message read status. | One-to-One and Group Read Receipt | N/A |
| Offline messages | Store offline messages for 1-7 days by default. Adjust storage duration and message count. | Manage Offline Message Storage | N/A |
| Offline message push | Receive push notifications for new group messages when offline. | APNs Push Development Guide | N/A |
| Recall message | Recall a sent message. | Recall Message | Recall Message |
| Local message search | Search local messages by keyword or user in specified conversations. | Search Messages | N/A |
| Get history messages | Retrieve historical messages from the local database or remote server. Requires Cloud Storage for One-to-One and Group Messages, with a default storage duration of 6 months. | Get History Messages | N/A |
| Get history message logs | RC’s server stores all historical message records as compressed log files. Use the server API to retrieve or delete logs for a specified app. | N/A | Get History Message Logs |
| Local message insertion | Insert messages into the local database. Locally inserted messages aren’t sent to the server or recipient. | Insert Message | N/A |
| Delete messages | Delete specific messages or all historical messages in a conversation, both locally and on the server. | Delete Messages | Message Deletion |
| Message extension | Add status identifiers (key-value pairs) to original messages. Provides interfaces to add, delete, and query extension information. | Message Extension | One-to-One and Group Message Extension |
| Custom message type | Create custom message types if built-in types don’t meet your needs. Supports custom text and media message types. | Custom Message Type | N/A |
By default, new group members can only receive messages sent after they join. To view pre-join historical messages, enable the following services for your App Key (note the difference between development and production environments):
- Enable Cloud Storage for One-to-One and Group Messages from the console’s Chat pricing plans page. This allows you to use RC’s message storage service for message history roaming. Available for IM Premium Plan or IM Ultimate Plan. For details on features and pricing, refer to the Billing Documentation.
- Enable New User Access to Pre-Join History Messages from the console’s Basic Features page.
Group conversation features
Group conversation features are similar to one-to-one chat, sharing some APIs and configurations.
| Feature | Description | Client API | RC Server API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get conversations | The SDK generates conversations in the local database based on sent and received messages. Retrieve the conversation list from the local database. | Get Conversations | N/A |
| Get unread messages | Retrieve unread messages from a specified conversation. Useful for jumping to the first unread message or displaying all unread @ messages. | Get Unread Messages in Conversation | N/A |
| Handle unread message count | Get or clear the unread message count in a conversation for UI display. | Handle Unread Message Count in Conversation | N/A |
| Delete conversations | Delete one or more conversations from the SDK-generated conversation list. | Delete Conversations | N/A |
| Conversation draft | Save a draft to a specified conversation. | Conversation Draft | N/A |
| Typing status | Set whether to receive reminders for new messages in a specified group conversation. Default is enabled. | Typing Status | N/A |
| Manage conversation tags | Create and manage tag information data to label and group conversations. Each user can create up to 20 tags. Tag information data created by app users is synced to RC’s server. | Manage Tag Information Data | N/A |
| Set and use conversation tags | Use conversation tags to group conversations. | Set and Use Conversation Tags | N/A |
| Conversation pin to top | Pin a specified conversation to the top of the conversation list. | Conversation Pin to Top | Conversation Pin to Top |
| Conversation Do Not Disturb | Control whether users receive push notifications for offline messages when their client device is offline. Supports setting Do Not Disturb by conversation or conversation type. | Do Not Disturb Overview | Do Not Disturb Overview |
| Multi-device sync of Do Not Disturb/Pin to Top status | The SDK provides a synchronization mechanism for conversation status (pin to top or Do Not Disturb). Set a conversation status sync listener to monitor changes in real-time when modified on other devices. | Multi-Device Synchronization of Do Not Disturb/Pin to Top | N/A |
| Multi-device sync of read status | Actively sync conversation read status across multiple devices under the same user account. | Multi-Device Synchronization of Read Status | N/A |
Differences between chatrooms and ultra groups
Learn about the differences and features of these business types: