Chat mode vs Work mode on mobile
Two ways to use ItzSEO on your phone — full-screen chat (like WhatsApp) or the regular work UI with the bottom nav. How to flip, what changes, and how to pick your default home.
On a phone, ItzSEO can present two completely different chromes:
- Chat mode — full-screen /messages as the home. The bottom nav is hidden. The whole viewport is your conversation list and chats, the way WhatsApp or iMessage feel. Designed for people whose main job in the app is talking to teammates and clients.
- Work mode — the familiar bottom-nav UI with Home, Messages, My Tasks, Notifications, and More. Designed for people who jump between tasks, leave, payslips, projects, and chat dozens of times a day.
You can flip modes at any time from the small violet Work / Chat chip at the top-right of every screen, or from Settings → Mobile shell in the more menu. Desktop never shows the chip — it stays on its full-sidebar layout regardless of which mode you picked on your phone.
What changes when you flip
- Bottom nav. Visible in Work, hidden in Chat. Chat needs every pixel for the message list.
- Where the app opens. When you tap the home-screen icon (PWA) or open the native app, the dispatcher reads your mode and lands you on /messages (Chat) or your Work-home (default /me/tasks).
- The header chip. Says "Work" in Chat mode (the action it takes you to) and "Chat" in Work mode. One tap to flip.
Picking your Work-mode home
When you're in Work mode, the app needs to decide which surface counts as "home." On Settings → Mobile shell you can choose between:
- My tasks — what's assigned to you across every project. The default for most teammates and the most common pick for employees.
- Home dashboard — today's punch state, top tasks, upcoming reminders, and recent payslip. Good if you want a daily snapshot.
- HRMS hub — attendance, leave, overtime, payroll. For HR managers who spend their day here.
- Projects list — every project you have access to. For project-heavy roles.
Your pick only affects where you land — every other surface is still reachable from More, Settings, or the bottom nav.
Navigating out of Chat mode
When you're in Chat mode and tap a link that goes somewhere other than another chat (a notification email might link you to a task, for example), the app asks "Switch to Work mode?":
- Switch and continue — flips you to Work mode and navigates to the URL. The chip now says "Chat" to flip back.
- Stay in Chat — navigates to the URL but keeps Chat mode (so the bottom nav stays hidden). Useful if you just want to peek at one screen and come back to chat.
The prompt only shows for links you tap, not for buttons or forms — those navigate directly.
What about desktop?
Desktop ignores Chat/Work mode entirely. The full sidebar + top bar is the same layout for everyone, regardless of which mode their phone is set to. Tablets ≥ 768 px wide are treated as desktop too — the mode only matters under that threshold.