Arwy's messaging is real-time and simple, but there's some thoughtful design under the hood about who can message whom. That keeps the space friendly and spam-free. Let's go through it.
Tip: you already share a book or a match with the person you're messaging — so skip "hey" and lead with the story. It works every time.
Who you can message
To keep things respectful, you can message someone if you've matched with them, or if you follow each other (a mutual follow). This small rule prevents unwanted messages and means a chat almost always starts with something in common. Support accounts are always reachable.
The Messages list & chats
Your Messages tab lists your conversations, newest first, with a preview of the last message. Tap one to open the chat, where messages appear in real time. Send text, and your messages show instantly with the usual sent/received flow.
Sharing book quotes in chat
Here's a lovely Arwy touch: while reading, you can select a line and send it straight to a friend. It arrives as a beautiful quote card (with the book cover, title and author) right in your chat — tap it to open the book. It's the perfect "you HAVE to read this" message. (You can also share quotes as image cards externally — see the Reader guide.)
Muting conversations
Need some quiet? You can mute notifications for a single conversation (long-press it in the list) or set a global mute for all messages for a set time — 15 minutes, an hour, a day, or until you turn it back on. Muted chats show a little "notifications off" icon, so you remember.
Staying safe: block & report
Your comfort comes first. From a chat or a profile you can block someone — which is two-way and also quietly cleans up any mutual follow and match, and hides the conversation. You can also report a message that breaks the rules. Blocking is always reversible from Settings → Privacy → Blocked users.
Tips for a good first message
- Lead with the book. "That twist in chapter 12 — did you see it coming?" beats "hi."
- Ask a real question. Give them something easy and fun to answer.
- Be yourself. You already share a story; that's the hard part done.
(We wrote a whole post of conversation starters for readers if you want ideas.)
Next in the series: Notifications — staying in the loop without the noise.
Start the conversation over a shared story. Get Arwy on Google Play.