---
module: profile.inbox
title: Inbox
tab: Customer
order: 10
audience: customer
---

Your Inbox is where you read and send internal messages and system notifications inside HiveIQ. Use it to reach other users on your team and to keep an eye on alerts the platform sends you.

## 📥 Read Your Messages
1. The **Inbox** tab lists messages sent to you, newest activity first.
2. Unread messages are highlighted and show a blue dot with a bold subject.
3. Click any row to open the full message in a side panel — it's marked as read automatically.
4. The count at the top shows how many messages you have and how many are still unread.

> Click **Mark all read** in the toolbar to clear every unread message at once.

## 📤 Sent
1. Switch to the **Sent** tab to see messages you've sent.
2. Each row shows who it went **To**, the subject, and a short preview.
3. Click a row to read the full message.

## ✏️ Compose a Message
1. Click **+ Compose** in the toolbar.
2. Choose a type: **Direct** to message specific people, or **Broadcast** to reach a whole group (available to administrators).
3. For a Direct message, search by name or email and add one or more recipients — added people appear as removable chips.
4. Add an optional **Subject** and write your **Message**.
5. Click **Send**.

> Administrators can target a **Broadcast** to a specific institution, or send it to all institutions at once.

## 🗂️ What You're Looking At
- **Type** — a colored tag showing the kind of message: **Direct** (person to person), **Broadcast** (sent to a group), or **Action** (a system notification that may need your attention).
- **Subject / Preview** — the message subject with a short snippet of the body.
- **From / To** — who sent it (Inbox) or who received it (Sent); system notifications show as **System**.
- **Date** — recent messages show a time, older ones show the day or full date.

## 💡 Good to Know
- Use **Delete** on a message row, or from the open message, to remove it from your inbox.
- The inbox refreshes automatically about once a minute — toggle **Auto-refresh** off, or hit the refresh button, to control this yourself.
- Messages are for internal HiveIQ users only.
