[Home](/en-us)›[Product](/en-us/product)›In-App Chat Execute # In-App Chat Real-time messaging between office, dispatchers, and drivers, threaded by trip and fully logged. [Start Free](https://portal.otms.transportial.com/auth/register)[Request a Demo](/en-us/contact) Socket.IOReal-timePush notificationsFirebaseHistory Real-time Socket.IO powered Threads Per trip or order Push Mobile & web ∞ Message history Trip · Messages ![Trip messages tab with the trip header showing status, distance, CO₂ and vehicle on the left, and a chat thread where a driver asks for the trip status](/assets/screens/trip-chat.webp) A thread per trip: the conversation sits next to the plan it is about. 1. Trip context: status, vehicle, distance, CO₂ 2. Message from the driver with "See translation" 3. Compose with attachments, templates and formatting No more WhatsApp groups, no more personal phone calls that leave no record. Transportial's in-app chat connects everyone in your operation in a structured messaging layer where every conversation is tied to the relevant trip or order. ## What it does A code-level inventory of what In-App Chat covers, in the terms you will find inside the product. ### Threads that follow the work * Entity chats Every shipment and every vehicle has its own chat; drivers have theirs. Filters for 1:1, groups, vehicles and shipments keep the list navigable. * Direct and group chats Private or public chats with members holding none, read, chat, moderator or admin permissions, pinned chats and a "send to multiple chats" action. * System messages Board-computer status messages land in the same thread as human messages and can be hidden. * Templates Message templates with a context (vehicle, trip, upcoming trips) and a language, picked from the composer. ### Reach people where they are * External channels WhatsApp (Meta Graph API), Telegram and e-mail bridge into the same thread, inbound and outbound; a chat reply can also go out as a threaded e-mail reply. * Read receipts Read by the driver, delivered to everyone, read by everyone, so an acknowledged route change is provable. * Push and desktop Mobile push through Firebase and native desktop notifications from the Electron app; unread counts show on the plan board. * Auto-translation DeepL or Google Cloud Translation with "see translation / see original", a per-tenant translation memory and a monthly character ceiling with a usage report. ### Chat as an operational record * Files to the trip Photos and documents shared in a trip chat can be attached to the trip with one action. * Message states Normal, important, pinned and deleted states; the message source (internal, WhatsApp, Telegram or e-mail) is stored on each message. * Automations into chat [Message automations](/en-us/product/message-automations) can post to chat as a channel, so trip confirmations and ETA updates appear in the thread the driver already reads. * Customer chat Customers with portal access chat with you from the [customer portal](/en-us/product/customer-portal), scoped to their own orders. ## How it works 1. ### Open the thread From a trip, shipment, vehicle or driver, or from the Messages page with its filters. 2. ### Write or pick a template Compose with attachments and formatting, or select a message template for the context. 3. ### Deliver on the right channel The recipient gets it in the app, on the board computer, by WhatsApp, Telegram or e-mail, depending on the channels connected to the chat. 4. ### Confirm it landed Receipts show delivery and reading; unread counts sit on the board row. Driver execution view ![Driver execution view of a trip with the current stop and actions](/assets/screens/driver-app-journey.webp) Drivers reply from the app or the execution view; the office reads it on the trip. ## Why chat belongs on the trip, not in a separate app A dispatcher's question about a delay only makes sense next to the plan: which stop, which window, which vehicle. Putting the thread on the trip and the shipment keeps that context one glance away and turns the conversation into part of the record, searchable later when a customer asks what happened. External bridging closes the last gap. A subcontracted driver who only has WhatsApp still appears in the same thread, and the office never has to keep a personal number in a phone. ## Concepts & terminology The words this module uses, with links to the full glossary where a term has its own page. [Open the glossary](/en-us/glossary) Entity chat A chat that belongs to a shipment, vehicle or driver and shows up on that entity's detail page. Message source Where a message came from: internal, WhatsApp, Telegram or e-mail, inbound or outbound. Read receipt Delivery and read confirmations per message: read by the driver, delivered to everyone, read by everyone. Translation memory A per-tenant cache of translated messages that avoids paying twice for the same sentence. Message template A reusable message with a context (vehicle, trip, upcoming trips) and a language. ## Works with Connectors that feed or consume this module out of the box. [![](/assets/whatsapp-logo.svg)WhatsApp](/en-us/integration/whatsapp)[![](/assets/telegram-logo.svg)Telegram](/en-us/integration/telegram)[Microsoft 365](/en-us/integration/microsoft-365)[SMTP / Email](/en-us/integration/smtp-email)[All integrations →](/en-us/integration) ## Built for Where this module carries the most weight, plus the free tools on the same topic. [transport-companies](/en-us/solutions/transport-companies)[couriers](/en-us/solutions/couriers)[freight-forwarders](/en-us/solutions/freight-forwarders) Technical details Chat runs over Socket.IO with tenant-scoped rooms per shipment, vehicle, direct or group chat. Messages are persisted with their source (internal, WhatsApp, Telegram or e-mail). Push notifications use Firebase Cloud Messaging. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can drivers without the app take part? Yes. WhatsApp, Telegram and e-mail bridge into the same thread, and board-computer messages from Transics, Webfleet, Trimble or Mapon appear as system messages. ### Are messages translated? Yes, with DeepL or Google Cloud Translation. Readers switch between translation and original, a translation memory reuses earlier translations, and a monthly character limit caps the cost. ### Can I see whether a driver read a message? Yes. Receipts show read by the driver, delivered to everyone and read by everyone. ### Can automations write into chat? Yes. Chat is one of the message automation channels, next to e-mail, notification, WhatsApp and Telegram. ## Related features [View all features](/en-us/product) [OpenMove Driver AppGive your drivers everything they need for their trip, on iOS or Android, with real-time communication back to the office.](/en-us/product/driver-app)[Message AutomationsSend the right message to the right person at exactly the right moment, triggered automatically by 75+ operational events.](/en-us/product/message-automations)[Real-Time Vehicle TrackingKnow where every vehicle is, what every sensor is reading, and how every trip is progressing, in real time.](/en-us/product/vehicle-tracking) View all features [Transport Order Management](/en-us/product/transport-orders)[Interactive Plan Board](/en-us/product/plan-board)[AI-Powered Trip Optimization](/en-us/product/trip-optimisation)[Fleet & Resource Management](/en-us/product/fleet-management)[3D Load Planning](/en-us/product/load-planning)[OpenMove Driver App](/en-us/product/driver-app)[Real-Time Vehicle Tracking](/en-us/product/vehicle-tracking)[Multi-Modal Routing](/en-us/product/routing)[Pricing Engine](/en-us/product/pricing-engine)[Invoicing & Financial Management](/en-us/product/invoicing)[Message Automations](/en-us/product/message-automations)[Document Management & Generation](/en-us/product/documents)[Integrated Email Inbox](/en-us/product/email-inbox)[In-App Chat](/en-us/product/chat)[Customer & Business Portal](/en-us/product/customer-portal)[Integration Framework](/en-us/product/integration-framework)[Reporting & Insights](/en-us/product/reporting)[Multi-Tenancy & White-Label](/en-us/product/white-label)[Security & Access Control](/en-us/product/security) ## Ready to put this to work? Start free with full platform access, or talk to our team about your specific operation. [Start Free](https://portal.otms.transportial.com/auth/register)[Book a Demo](/en-us/contact) --- Canonical page: https://transportial.com/en-us/product/chat