Upload limits
Your workspace can cap how much you upload in a month. If yours does, HushChat keeps a running total for you and shows what is left before you attach anything.
Where to see what is left
The remaining allowance is shown on the web, at the bottom of the + attach menu beside the composer. Open the menu and it is the last line.
It reads as the amount you have left — for example 500 MB left. Once the allowance is gone it
reads Upload limit reached instead.
The line changes colour as you get close: grey normally, amber once you have used about nine tenths of the month's allowance, and red when there is nothing left.
If your workspace has no limit, or your administrator has given you an unlimited allowance, the line is not shown at all. Nothing is being hidden from you — there is simply nothing to count.
What counts
Only message attachments count — the photos, videos and documents you send in conversations.
| Uploaded | Counts against your allowance? |
|---|---|
| Photos and videos in a conversation | Yes |
| Documents in a conversation | Yes |
| Your profile photo | No |
| A group's icon | No |
| GIFs you send from the picker | No — the GIF is not uploaded from your device |
The size of every file in a batch is added together and counted as one. Sending five photos at once uses the same allowance as sending them one at a time.
When it runs out
The check happens before the upload starts, so an upload that would take you over your allowance never leaves your device. You get Monthly upload limit reached. along with how much of your allowance you have used, and nothing is sent.
Two separate things can trigger it:
- The batch does not fit in what is left this month. Send fewer or smaller files, or wait for the reset.
- The batch is larger than your whole monthly allowance. No amount of waiting helps — this one needs a bigger allowance or a smaller file.
The allowance is reserved when the upload is authorised, not when it finishes. An upload you cancel part way through, or one that fails after it started, has already been counted.
When it resets
The count is per calendar month, in UTC, and it resets on its own. At the start of a new month you begin from zero — there is nothing to claim, and no leftover allowance carried forward from the month before.
Who sets the limit, and who can raise it
Only a workspace administrator can change an allowance. There are two levels, and the more specific one wins.
| Level | Where an administrator sets it | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Workspace default | Workspace Settings → Default monthly upload limit | Everyone without a personal limit |
| Personal override | Users → the person → Upload Quota | That one person |
The workspace default is a switch with a value beside it in MB or GB. The app describes it as "Set a default monthly upload quota for all workspace users. Can be overridden per user." Turning the switch off means the workspace has no default limit.
For one person, an administrator picks between Use Default, Custom and Unlimited, and saves. The same panel shows that person's usage for the month, how much they have remaining, and what the workspace default is, so the decision can be made in context. A custom allowance has to be at least 1 MB.
If you have run out and the work cannot wait, ask a workspace administrator for a personal allowance. Raising it takes effect straight away — reopen the + menu and the new figure is there.
Upload limit versus file size limit
These are two different limits and they are refused in different ways.
- The per-file size limit rejects one file for being too big, before you even reach the upload. You are told which file and that it is too large; the rest of the batch still sends.
- The monthly upload limit rejects the whole batch because of what you have already sent this month, and resets at the start of the next month.
See Documents and downloads for the per-file limit.