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Inbox Navigation & Filters

Master your Bugalou inbox — learn how to use quick filters, channel filters, priority filters, label filters, team inboxes, search, and sort options.

Inbox Layout

The Bugalou team inbox has a three-panel design:

  • Left sidebar — filters and navigation (collapsible)
  • Conversation list — your conversations with search and sort
  • Message area + contact panel — the active conversation with contact details on the right

The filter sidebar can be collapsed by clicking the « arrows, showing only icons for a compact view.

Quick Filters

At the top of the sidebar you'll find six quick filters:

FilterIconWhat It Shows
AllInboxAll conversations across all statuses
MineUserOnly conversations assigned to you (with count badge)
UnassignedUser-minusOpen conversations not yet assigned (with count badge)
Mentioned@Conversations where you've been @mentioned (with unread badge)
ClosedArchiveAll closed/resolved conversations
SpamShieldConversations marked as spam (auto-deleted after 14 days)

Channel Filters (Kanalen)

Under the "CHANNELS" heading, filter conversations by platform:

  • 🌐 All platforms — everything
  • 💬 WhatsApp
  • 📸 Instagram
  • 💙 Facebook Messenger
  • 💻 Website Chat
  • 📧 Email — when selected, shows individual email accounts as sub-options so you can filter by specific email address

Only connected channels are shown. When the Email filter is active, a "New" button appears to compose a fresh email. Learn more about choosing the right channel for your business.

Priority Filter

Under the "PRIORITY" heading, filter by urgency:

  • High
  • Medium
  • Low

Label Filter

Under the "LABELS" heading, filter by any label you've created. Each label shows its color dot and name. Select a label to see only conversations tagged with it. See using labels and closing notes to learn how to create and manage labels.

Team Inboxes

If your organization has teams, you'll see the "TEAM INBOX" section with:

  • All messages — view all team conversations
  • Individual teams — each listed with a colored dot, click to see only that team's conversations

Conversation Search

Click the magnifying glass icon in the conversation list header to open search. Search by:

  • Contact name or profile name
  • Phone number
  • Instagram username
  • Ticket number
  • Message content

Results update in real-time with a 300ms debounce. Click to clear.

Status & Sort Options

At the top of the conversation list, use the dropdowns to control the view:

Status Filter

  • All
  • Open
  • Closed
  • Snoozed
  • Unassigned

Sort Options

  • Newest first (default)
  • Oldest first
  • Longest open
  • Shortest open

Conversation Cards

Each conversation in the list shows:

  • Avatar with platform badge (WhatsApp/Instagram/Email icon overlay)
  • Priority dot — colored indicator next to the name
  • Name — profile name, contact name, phone number, or "Unknown"
  • Profile link icon — if a unified profile is linked
  • Time — relative ("2 min", "1 hour", "yesterday")
  • Last message preview — one line, with 📷 for images, 🎵 for audio, 🎥 for video, 📎 for files
  • Unread badge — red circle with count
  • Label pills — up to 3 colored labels, "+N" for more

Real-time Updates

The conversation list refreshes every 15 seconds automatically. Messages within the active conversation refresh every 3 seconds. New messages trigger auto-scroll to the bottom.