Message History in Fixed Rooms
Last updated: September 13, 2026
Message History allows Fixed Rooms to restore available previous conversations when you return.
Fixed Rooms provide reusable chat spaces for conversations that may continue over time. When Message History is enabled, messages can be stored locally in your browser and restored through HZ Chat’s local-first synchronization model.
Why We Added Message History
HZ Chat was originally designed around Temporary Chats for short-term conversations. Temporary Chats use randomly generated Chat Codes and limited session lifecycles, so they do not provide message history.
As we introduced Fixed Rooms, we found through user feedback that some conversations benefit from having previous messages available when participants return to the same room. Message history was one of the features users considered important even when the conversation itself is intended to remain lightweight and temporary in nature.
However, this approach is not a good fit for Temporary Chats. Their Chat Codes are generated for individual sessions and their room lifecycles are intentionally short-lived, making them unsuitable for maintaining a reusable history. Fixed Rooms provide a persistent room identity and reusable access, making them the right place for optional Message History.
| Feature | Temporary Chats | Fixed Rooms |
|---|---|---|
| Chat Code | Temporary code, changes for each chat | Reusable Chat Code |
| Message History | Not available | Available through local storage and synchronization |
| Room Lifecycle | Short-term sessions | Reusable chat space |
Message History is enabled by default for all Fixed Rooms. Only the room owner can change this setting, and it applies to the entire room.
Configure Message History
You can configure Message History for each Fixed Room from the Account page or directly from the Chat Settings menu while in the room.
When Message History is enabled:
- New messages are saved locally in your browser.
- History synchronization is enabled.
- Available previous messages can be loaded when you return to the room.
When Message History is disabled:
- New messages are no longer saved locally.
- History synchronization is disabled.
- Previous messages are not loaded when you return to the room.
Disabling Message History stops new messages from being saved locally, disables history synchronization and history loading, but does not delete existing local data. If Message History is enabled again later, previously stored messages can become available again.
How Message History Works
HZ Chat uses a local-first message history model. When Message History is enabled, messages are stored locally in your browser using IndexedDB and associated with the Fixed Room. This design keeps message history on users’ devices while allowing missing messages to be synchronized between active participants through HZ Chat’s temporary server-side coordination, without creating a permanent server-side message archive.
When you return to a Fixed Room:
- Existing local messages are loaded from your browser first.
- If some messages are missing locally, HZ Chat can request available messages from active participants through temporary server-side synchronization.
- Newly synchronized messages are saved locally on your device for future access.
Message History is stored locally on each device and is associated with the Fixed Room, not your account.
For example:
- Returning to the same Fixed Room on the same browser can restore messages already stored on that device.
- Joining the same Fixed Room on another device can retrieve available messages from other participants when their devices have those messages stored locally.
The server does not maintain a permanent message archive. Temporary server-side message data may be used to improve synchronization efficiency, but message availability depends on the messages stored on participating devices and the synchronization sources available at the time. As a result, HZ Chat does not guarantee that every previous message will always be recoverable.
Message History Across Devices
Message History is stored locally on each device and is associated with the Fixed Room, not your account.
To restore available history on another device:
- Join the same Fixed Room on the new device.
- At least one other participant must be online for your history to be restored.
- Available messages are synchronized to the new device and stored locally for future access.
Signing into the same account does not automatically restore message history. HZ Chat does not maintain a permanent server-side message archive.
Deleting Fixed Rooms
Pro subscribers can delete Fixed Rooms they created.
When a Fixed Room is deleted:
- The room configuration is removed.
- Temporary server-side synchronization data associated with the room is cleared.
- Message history already stored locally in users’ browsers is not automatically deleted.
Local history remains on each device because it is stored in the browser rather than on the server. Creating a new Fixed Room with the same Chat Code does not restore previous messages because each Fixed Room has its own internal identity, keeping message history isolated between different rooms.
Design Principles and Limitations
Message History gives Fixed Rooms continuity while keeping HZ Chat different from traditional messaging platforms.
Key principles:
- History is stored locally instead of in a permanent server-side message archive.
- Synchronization can restore available messages, but complete history cannot always be guaranteed.
- Message availability depends on browser storage, device availability, and active participants.
- Temporary Chats remain temporary and do not support Message History.
This design lets Fixed Rooms support returning conversations without relying on a permanent centralized message archive.