# Direct messages and groups

Private one-to-one and group conversations, end-to-end encrypted, with the same tools as channels.

Direct messages and group chats are private conversations outside any channel. They're end-to-end encrypted, so only the people in them can read them.

## Start a direct message

Open a person's profile, or search for their username, and choose **Message**. The conversation is set up between your two devices. The first message to someone new can take a few seconds while that happens.

## Start a group chat

Choose **New group**, add people and give the group a name. Members can be added or removed later. When someone leaves or is removed, the group's encryption keys change, so they can't read anything sent after they left.

## Same tools as channels

Replies, edits, deletes and reactions all work in direct messages and groups, just as they do in channels. See [Channels, messages and replies](conversations).

## Post-quantum protection

Direct messages use a hybrid post-quantum key exchange (X-Wing, which combines ML-KEM-768 with X25519). That protects them against someone who records encrypted traffic today and hopes to break it with a quantum computer later. See [How encryption works](how-encryption-works) for exactly what is and isn't covered.

## Storage for files you send

Files sent in a direct message or group outside a workspace count towards **your personal storage**. Personal storage is 1 GB on the free plan. People receiving a file never pay for it. See [Files and storage](files-and-storage).