BoldDesk Live Chat: Message Limits and Supported Media
This article explains the message character limits and supported media formats available across Live Chat channels integrated with BoldDesk. Understanding these channel-specific limitations helps ensure messages and file attachments are delivered successfully without truncation, formatting issues, or delivery failures.
For third-party messaging channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, LINE, and SMS, message length limits, supported file formats, and file size restrictions are determined by the respective channel providers and cannot be modified in BoldDesk. Referred to the character limits set by the respective communication channels.
Message Character Limits
The following table lists the maximum number of characters supported by each communication channel.
Maximum Character Limits by Channel
| Channel | Maximum Character Count |
|---|---|
| BoldDesk Live Chat Widget (Customer to Agent / Agent to Customer) | 10,000 |
| WhatsApp (Meta Cloud API) | 4,096 |
| Facebook Messenger | 2,000 |
| Instagram Direct Message | 1,000 |
| SMS (Twilio) | 1,600 |
| Telegram | 4,096 |
| LINE | 5,000 |
| WhatsApp (Gupshup) | 4,096 |
| WhatsApp (Twilio) | 1,600 |
Messages that exceed the maximum character limit of a channel cannot be sent through that channel.
Media Format Support
Media format support varies depending on the communication channel. Inbound support refers to the file formats that BoldDesk can receive, while outbound support refers to the file formats that agents can send through the connected channel.
| Channel | Media Type | Inbound Extensions | Outbound Extensions |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp (Meta Cloud API) | Image | All supported formats | image/jpeg, image/png |
| Audio | All supported formats | mp3, amr | |
| Document | All supported formats (≤20 MB) | text/plain, application/pdf, application/msword, application/vnd.ms-excel, etc. | |
| Video | All supported formats | video/mp4, video/3gp | |
| Sticker | Not supported | image/webp | |
| Facebook Messenger | Image | png, gif, jpg, jpeg | png, gif, jpg, jpeg |
| Audio | aac, m4a, wav, mp4 | aac, m4a, wav, mp4 | |
| Document | All MIME types | All MIME types | |
| Video | mp4, avi, mov, webm, ogg | mp4, avi, mov, webm, ogg | |
| Sticker | webp | webp | |
| Facebook Comments | Image | png, jpg, jpeg, gif | png, jpg, jpeg, gif |
| Instagram DM | Image | jpeg, png | jpeg, png |
| Audio | aac, m4a, wav, mp3 | aac, m4a, wav, mp3 | |
| Video | mp4, avi, mov, webm, ogg | mp4, avi, mov, webm, ogg | |
| Sticker | webp | webp | |
| Instagram Comments | Media | Not supported | Not supported |
| Twilio SMS | Media | Not supported | Not supported |
| Telegram | Image | image/jpeg, image/jpg, image/png | image/jpeg, image/jpg, image/png |
| Audio | mp3, m4a | mp3, m4a | |
| Document | pdf, zip | pdf, zip | |
| Video | mp4 | mp4 | |
| Sticker | webp | webp | |
| LINE | Image | Not specified | jpeg, png |
| Audio | Not specified | mp3, m4a | |
| Video | Not specified | mp4 | |
| WhatsApp (Gupshup) | Image | Not specified | jpeg, png |
| Audio | Not specified | mp3, aac, mp4, amr, ogg | |
| Video | Not specified | mp4, 3gp | |
| Document | Not specified | pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx | |
| WhatsApp (Twilio) | Image | jpeg, jpg, png, webp | jpeg, png |
| Audio | amr, 3gp, aac, mpeg | aac, 3gp, amr | |
| Video | mp4 | mp4 | |
| Document | pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, pptx | pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, pptx |
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Can message limits be customized in BoldDesk?
No. Message length limits are enforced by the configured channel and cannot be modified in BoldDesk. -
Does BoldDesk automatically truncate long messages?
No. Messages exceeding the allowed character limit are blocked and not delivered. Also, you will be notified when you exceed the character limit, as shown in the image below.
-
Are file size limits configurable in Admin Settings?
No. File size and format limits are controlled by the connected Live Chat channel. -
Can SMS channels send images or documents?
No. SMS channels configured in BoldDesk support text-only messages. -
Are media previews configurable in the Agent Portal?
No. BoldDesk displays media according to the channel’s supported rendering behavior. -
Can I send an image in the BoldDesk Live Chat widget as an end user?
Yes. BoldDesk Live Chat supports sending images as file attachments directly from the chat widget, provided the feature is enabled by the organization using BoldDesk. -
Where is the image upload option located in the BoldDesk chat widget?
In the BoldDesk chat widget, the image upload option appears as an attachment icon beside the message input box at the far right of the chat window.
The attachment icon becomes visible only after the user starts the chat by sending a message. Additionally, file attachments must be enabled by the admin for the Live Chat widget for this option to be available.
- How do I insert an image in the BoldDesk Live Chat widget?
To send an image in the BoldDesk Live Chat:- Open the BoldDesk Live Chat widget on the website or customer portal.
- Start the chat by sending a message to the support team.
- Once the chat has started, the attachment icon will appear next to the message input box.
- Click the attachment icon and select an image from your device (such as JPG or PNG).
- Click Send to share the image with the support agent.
The attachment option is available only if file attachments are enabled by the admin for the Live Chat widget.
