Transferring a Chat Session

Overview

In Capture Mobile for WhatsApp Business, session ownership determines who can manage and respond in a customer conversation. The Transfer Session feature allows you to move ownership of an active one-to-one session to another eligible user or to an existing internal group that includes the same external WhatsApp contact. In a group conversation, only an Admin can transfer the session. Once transferred, the conversation continues seamlessly for the customer, while your copy of the chat becomes read-only. This ensures customers experience no interruption and always know who they're communicating with.

Key concepts

Session

An active conversation between you and a contact. When you open a conversation in Capture Mobile, you own the session until it expires or is transferred.

Session ownership

Only the session owner can send and receive messages. Ownership transfers automatically when you hand off a session, or after a set period of inactivity.

Eligible transfer recipients

A session can be transferred to an eligible internal user or to an existing internal group that includes the same external contact. Eligible internal users are team members managed by the same account manager, for whom Capture Mobile for WhatsApp Business is enabled and who have the Capture Mobile app installed. The transfer list displays eligible groups in the Groups with [contact name] section above the list of internal users. Only groups associated with the current external contact appear.

Read-only mode

After transfer, your copy of the chat becomes read-only. You can view the conversation history but cannot send new messages.

Prerequisites

Before transferring a session, ensure that you have an active session with the contact. If the session has expired, the Transfer Session option is unavailable.

Note

In a one-to-one conversation, the session owner can transfer the session. In an internal group conversation, only an Admin can transfer the group session.

Transferring a Session

To transfer an active chat session to a user or eligible group:

1. Open the active conversation thread that you want to transfer.

2. Tap the menu icon at the top right of the thread.

3. Tap Transfer Session.

   

   Note

   If your session is not active, the Transfer Session option is greyed out.

   A list of eligible transfer recipients appears. If one or more internal groups already include the same external contact, they appear in the Groups with [contact name] section above the list of internal users.

4. Do one of the following:

   • Scroll through the list to find the recipient group or user.

     

   • Type in the search box to filter by group or user name.

     

5. Select a group or user from the list to transfer the chat.

   A confirmation dialog appears.

6. Tap Transfer.

   The chat button changes to "Transferring…" while the chat is transferred to the selected user or group.

   

On successful transfer:

• The confirmation screen is displayed with the message "Chat transferred to [recipient name]."

• Your copy of the chat becomes read-only.

• The message composer is disabled.

• The receiving user or group gains ownership, and authorized participants can send and receive messages. When a session is transferred to a group, the group chat displays a system message such as "[name] transferred this chat to this group."

In case of a transfer failure:

• An error message "Transfer failed." is displayed.

• The conversation thread remains unaffected.

• You retain session ownership and can continue chatting.

After Session Transfer

If you transferred a session:

• You can read the full chat history from the beginning.

• The message composer is disabled and greyed out.

• You cannot send new messages.

• You will not receive incoming messages from the contact.

If you received a transferred session:

• You receive the session immediately in your app.

• You become the active session owner and can send and receive messages.

• The contact's next message will be directed to you.

Limitations

• You can only transfer an active session. If the session has expired or timed out, the Transfer Session option is unavailable.

• You can transfer only to users managed by the same account manager. If a colleague is in a different management structure, they won't appear in the Select User list.

• The receiving user must have Capture Mobile enabled on their account and the app installed on their device.

• After transfer, you cannot reclaim the session. If you need to work on the chat again, the new owner must transfer it back to you.

• The transfer takes a few seconds to process. During this time, neither you nor the receiving user can send messages.

• Groups appear as transfer recipients only when they already include the same external contact.

• If the selected recipient is also an internal user, groups where that person is not the external contact are not shown.

• A Member cannot transfer a group session.

Troubleshooting