Arc keeps your inbox calm and safe. Not everyone can message you out of the blue, and businesses can't cold-message you. Here's how it all works.
Arc controls who is allowed to start a conversation with you. Messages from people you don't know don't just land in your main inbox — they go to a separate Requests area first, so you decide who gets through.
You choose this in Settings → Privacy → Who can message you:
No matter your setting, if you and another person follow each other, are connected, or you're in the same Hub, you can always chat. Connecting is the easiest way to open messaging with someone you know. See Follow and Connect.
When someone you don't follow tries to message you (and your setting is "People I follow"), it becomes a request instead of landing in your inbox.
Your personal inbox is only for personal chats. Messages about your orders, bookings, job applications and hire jobs stay attached to those transactions — you'll find them on the order, booking, application or job page — so they never clutter your personal messages.
Businesses can't cold-message you. A business or organisation account can only message you if you follow them. This stops spam and unwanted sales messages.
Someone said they messaged me but I don't see it.
Check the Requests tab in Messages — if you don't follow them, it's waiting there.
I declined someone by mistake. Can I undo it?
Follow them, or ask them to follow you and follow them back — once a follow relationship exists you can message each other directly.
Why can't I message a business back?
You can, once you follow them. Open their profile and tap Follow.
I run a business — why can't I message customers first?
To protect people from spam, businesses can only message people who follow them. Encourage customers to follow your page, and reply through order/booking threads for anything transaction-related.
Every post, comment, profile, message and listing has a Report button. Reporting is quick — usually three taps: tap Report, choose a reason (Fake account, Spam, Harassment, Hate speech, Under 18, Child sexual abuse material, or Other), and confirm. You'll see: "Thank you. We have received your report and will review it within 24 hours." The most serious reports (child sexual abuse material, under-18) are treated as critical and actioned immediately, including automatic suspension of the reported account where appropriate.
When you block someone, the block is enforced everywhere — not just hidden in the interface. The person you blocked cannot see your profile (it returns "not found"), find you in search, see your posts in the feed or Explore, or message you, and any existing conversation is hidden from both sides. Manage your blocked accounts in Settings → Safety.
Restricting sits between muting and blocking, and the person is never told. When you restrict someone, they can still see your profile, but their new comments on your posts are hidden from everyone else until you approve them, and their messages move to a filtered requests area with no read receipts and no online status shown. It is useful when you do not want to block someone outright but want to limit their reach. Manage restricted accounts in Settings → Safety.
Conversations with people you have restricted move to a separate Restricted tab in Messages, out of your main inbox. The tab shows a count of restricted conversations, and each one carries a subtle Restricted label. You can Unrestrict someone directly from that tab at any time.
Muting is quieter than blocking. When you mute someone, their posts stop appearing in your feed, but they can still see your profile and message you, and they are never told they've been muted. Unmute any time in Settings → Safety.
Arc automatically filters abusive and hateful language across every supported language. If something you write is not allowed, you'll be asked to revise it before it can be posted. Repeated attempts lead to escalating restrictions, up to a permanent ban.
Audio, video and group calls are only ever between people who are connected on Arc. Nobody can call you unless you've accepted their connection request first, so there are no cold calls. Arc does not record calls, and recording a call without everyone's consent is not allowed. See Calls on Arc for how to start, answer and manage calls.