@BunnyCat I’ve never really gotten into labels , but use the App almost exclusively. Are labels only on the website or does the app have them too? Are they for both sitters and PPs or just one?
They are only on the website and I believe they are available for both HSs and PPs. We use the following custom labels:
- Approved
- Possible
- Invited
- Unread
- Do not Apply
The labels allow us to quickly sort through the inbox when we need to find some information.
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Hio @BunnyCat
I have just checked my labels and I have 13 on the go.
@Carla - thanks for asking about this - I would hate this feature to go
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Hello @BunnyCat I have an update from the Product team about the labels in the new inbox:
Hi everyone,
As we continue to improve your Inbox experience, we’ve made the decision to retire the label functionality. We understand some of you may have found them helpful, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
What were labels?
Labels were a way to tag conversations with pre-set options or custom labels you created. They could help categorise messages like “Like,” “Possible,” or “Not Suitable.”
Why the change?
Over time, label usage has declined significantly, with only 7% of users actively using them. Our research suggests the main reason is the extra step of manually labelling for later filtering.
We also looked closely at custom label usage. Many of the common uses, such as tracking application status, message read/unread status, and message type (application or invite), have already been addressed through improvements to the new Inbox design.
What’s improved in the new Inbox?
-
Clearer Status: Application/assignment status, message read/unread status, and conversation type are now more readily apparent.
-
Managing Applicants: Owners can now use the dedicated dates page to manage applicants and can easily see all applicants that applied, and the status of each applicant.
What’s next?
While we’ve addressed many label use cases, we’re always looking for ways to improve!
Based on your feedback, we’re evaluating features like filtering and sorting for the new Inbox.
From the feature survey we did back in December 2023: Search in your inbox to help you find messages and previous conversations and filter your inbox - This would be a way to sort your inbox i.e. this could be by active/open sits or sitters, or based on assignment locations were the top ideas and we will continue to evaluate these options.
Thank you for your understanding!
This is an update about labels and filters specifically, but the team is still working on other new features and the Forum team will update you about those as we know more. Please watch this space as some of the new features have been highly requested!
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I used labels as it was the only way to sort the messages. I have so many messages from invites I’m not interested in and declined/ not chosen messages. there will never be a way to clean up messages by deleting. Archive is the only option.
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This is getting too annoying: I almost sent the wrong person a message now. When I click in my Dashboard “View conversation” it does not take me to the right message thread.
On Monday I had sent the form to opt out of the beta test, but I am still in it. @Jenny can you get me out?
Something else: there is now a small landscape icon. In the web interface it does not do anything, in the app it seems that members have reported that it can be used to send photos (and there it shows also an icon for video).
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Hi @pietkuip
I’ve checked in with the team and they’ve confirmed that you’ll be removed from the beta test today.
Thanks for flagging these issues with us too - the Product team have a note of this as well.
Jenny
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es I filled out the feedback form in detail.
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So… is there anyone on here still in the beta test other than myself?!
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I don’t think anyone has mentioned, but the labels are also completely gone. I used mine and found them very helpful.
I noticed, in the old inbox that the functionality wasn’t working very well and started to become glitchy. I really hope that this isn’t something that is being eliminated with this update.
And as others have mentioned, it’s a bit drastic to go from this limited version vs. the older version. It may have been useful to have allowed for a toggle feature or leave beta testers with access to the old as well as the beta version, which was initially the case with my inbox, albeit, I think it was a bug, but I was able to access my old inbox via favourites, which I’m now no longer able to do, and as I keep my inbox very clean, I do not have access to any conversations other than upcoming/already scheduled sits.
Small thing, but the grey out on the text is a bit light. I’m also unsure as to what a greyed out message is intended to mean…just that the message is read? confirmed?
Part of me is wondering if it would make more sense to have a bit more granularity such as
- bold = new/unread,
- regular = message read but not confirmed,
- greyed out (but with a slightly darker grey, as this one’s a bit hard to see) = confirmed?
Will we still have read receipts so that we know when messages have been viewed?
Is it possible to consider turning messages that people have not yet responded to RED and/or add some type of a flag when they are still waiting on an action such as a response, welcome guide needs to be sent, etc.?
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They’re dropping like flies @Debbie but will this piece of data be taken notice of??
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I did ask about that and Carla replied that they’re going away because of low usage. See my post above from 3 days ago.
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Uggggggggggggh! That’s frustrating to hear.
Ok 
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Hi @bakindoki
I have mentioned the lack of labels many times on this thread.
I have included it in all of my 5 feedbacks.
This is the response given by Carla, earlier in the thread:
Over time, label usage has declined significantly, with only 7% of users actively using them. Our research suggests the main reason is the extra step of manually labelling for later filtering.
I have never been party to any research on labels and the reason about the extra step of manually labelling is nonsense - it took a minute and I have 13 different labels of all colours.
As I am no longer in the test, I cannot see whether all of the anomolies have been fixed
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I applied to be part of the test group because it was expected to start earlier in the year when I was actively applying for sits. That’s not the case now, so I’ve asked to be removed from the group. I haven’t done much testing but FWIW I prefer the look of the new inbox. It looks much more like other messaging services (Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram) and there’s no more weird nesting of messages. The times of the messages are actually times rather than the ‘three days ago’ thing that used to be there. I don’t like that I can’t see my archived folder or my labels anymore (I’m another one who uses the labels!). I can’t speak to the functionality as I haven’t applied for any sits since the test started.
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I just saw the labels for the first time today, and I thought, “Oh, great! A new feature!”
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Hello everyone just an update from the Product team they have now added the ‘archive & unarchive’ feature to the Beta test:
They are continuing to collect feedback and we will update you when any new features are added. Thank you
@HelloOutThere Thank you for sharing this one! The team have confirmed that the correct times including time zones will be shown in the inbox when messages are sent. Thank you for your feedback!
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I have the old inbox system.
I added a zoom link to an email and it became a hyper link.
This is new as far as I know and good!
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Hi Carla
Do you know whether a common problem is being rectified under this new system?
Yet again I have received an invitation with no message. I asked the owner if she had sent a message and she said yes.
I have lost count of how many times that I have reported this over at least 2 years. I receive the response that it is being looking into.
It is extremely frustrating.
To recount - an owner writes a message, clicks on the dates and the message disappears. The owner has no idea that the message has not been despatched unless they check their inbox.
The process needs 2 steps for it to be successful but no - one knows this.
Can you confirm that this will be rectified
Thanks
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