They both appear in your Chats list, and this is where you will receive notifications for messages that require your attention.
Both Chats and Channels share the same underlying messaging functionality.
The main differentiation between them is that Channels ALWAYS belong to a Team, whilst Chats are standalone and have a unique membership list that is not discoverable.
Channels tend to be created more frequently than Chats because they are a quick way of bringing a new topic to an existing audience.
Comparison:
| Chats | Channels |
Are standalone conversations | Belong to a Team |
Have their own individual membership | Inherit their membership from the Team |
Cannot be discovered via Search | Are discoverable through the Team |
Disappear from your Chat list if you leave the conversation | Can be left and rejoined by a Team member at any time |
If you leave the Chat, you will permanently lose access to all content shared on the Chat | If you leave a Channel, you still have access to the content of the Channel through Search as long as you're still part of the Team |
If you are a Chat Admin you can add anyone in your Organisation to a Chat | You can add anyone who is NOT in the Team to a Channel through the Invite Guest feature |
A Chat can have multiple Chat Admins | There is only one Channel Admin and they are the creator of the Channel |
The Chat Admins have overall control of the Chat and the Chat Settings | The Channel Admin has overall control over the members of the Channel and the Channel Settings |
Chats can be created by anyone on Blink | Channels can only be created by Org and Team Admins |
When you create a new contact, we automatically create a Chat between you which you can find in your Chat list.
A Channel will only appear in your Chat List when you have created or been added to a Channel.