The app on phones
The Hub works in any phone browser, and it can be installed like an app. Installed, it opens full screen without the browser's bars, has its own icon, and can show notifications while it's closed. This is the first iPhone and iPad release: a native app may follow later.
Installing it
- iPhone and iPad: open The Hub in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Open it from the Home Screen. (On iOS 16.4 and later, Chrome and Edge can do it too, from their Share menu.)
- Android: open it in Chrome and tap Install when it's offered, or choose Install app in the browser menu.
- Computers: Chrome and Edge show an install button in the address bar. The desktop app is still the one with global push-to-talk and the in-game overlay.
On a phone, The Hub offers to install itself once (you can dismiss it), and the website's Get the app section has the same steps.
Notifications
Turn on Settings → Notifications → Push notifications on this device. Direct messages, mentions and replies then reach you even with The Hub closed. On iPhone and iPad this needs iOS 16.4 or later and The Hub installed on the Home Screen. Do not disturb silences them, and nothing is sent while you're looking at The Hub.
Each notification is encrypted for your device before it leaves the server (Web Push, RFC 8291), so the phone's push service (Apple, Google, Mozilla or Microsoft) can't read it. Encrypted direct messages only say that a message arrived.
Made for small screens
- The message bar stays above the keyboard and the browser's bars.
- Menus, the emoji, GIF and sticker panels open as sheets along the bottom, with buttons big enough to tap.
- Press and hold a message for its actions, a person for their menu, or a reaction to see who reacted.
- Swipe a message to the right to reply. Swipe in from the left edge for your channels, from the right edge for the member list.
- Data saver (Settings → Data and privacy) skips pictures from links and animated profile backgrounds. It's on by itself when your phone asks apps to save data.