Communities knowledge base for members
Follow your favorite brands, interact with like-minded people from around the world, and keep up-to-date on the topics that interest YOU, with communities.
Want to start your own community? Take a look at our dedicated Communities knowledge base for admins.
Community guidelines and moderation
As a community member, it’s important to adhere to the rules set out by the community admins, as well as by Rakuten Viber. If you break the rules, the admins have the right to remove you from the community or ban you.
For more information, please refer to your community’s About section (which may include rules) and our Rakuten Viber acceptable use policy.
Admins and Super-admins guide and moderate the community’s content and also have the power to ban members that are not adhering to community rules. If you see something inappropriate, make sure to contact an admin or report the message/community directly to Rakuten Viber.
Tip: Admins and Super-admins have a Star badge next to their profile picture in the chat screen and the member’s list.
To contact an admin:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap on the profile picture of the (Super)admin you want to send a message
- Tap Message (name of admin)
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
- Under Members, select the (Super)admin you want to contact
- Tap Message (name of admin)
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Click on the profile picture of the (Super)admin you want to send a message
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Click on Info
- Click Members
- Hover over the (Super)admin you want to contact
- Click on the Message button
Notes
If a (Super)admin has chosen not to accept messages, you will not be able to contact them.
If you find a community contains inappropriate content, you can report it. For more information, please see our article on How to report inappropriate content.
Participate in a community
You can find new communities to join by Searching for them*.
*Only public communities can be found using Search. If you can’t find the community you're looking for, you will need to ask an existing member of the community to invite you.
To find a community:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Tap on Search (Android) or swipe down to reveal the Search bar (iOS)
- Type in the name of a community or a topic of interest
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Click on the Search field
- Type in the name of a community or a topic of interest
Once you find a community you like, tap/click Join community in the chat screen.
If your community allows members to write in the chat, you can reply directly to messages. This helps keep the community clean and for everyone to understand who is speaking with whom.
To reply to a message:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Swipe right on the message you want to reply to
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Long tap on the message you want to reply to
- Select Reply from the list of options
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Hover over the timestamp in the message that you want to reply to
- Click on the arrow
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Right-click on the message you want to reply to
- Select Reply from the list of options
Type your message as you usually would and it will appear as a reply once you send it.
Changed your mind? Click/tap on the x to cancel the reply.
You can comment on a message in a community (if comments are enabled) by tapping on it.
Note: You can disable comments for messages you've sent by long-tapping a message you've sent and tapping Disable comments
Tell admins (and members) what you think about their content by reacting to messages.
Tap/click on the heart next to a message to show that you like it, or long tap the heart on your phone and select the reaction you want to express, including laughter , shock , sadness , or anger . To react on your desktop, hover your cursor over the heart and select the reaction you want to convey.
You can see how many people reacted to each message under the heart, however, unlike in groups you won’t see individual responses.
Translate a message into a language that you understand. Messages can also be translated when they are sent together with pictures, URLs and videos. The language the message will be translated into depends on what language Rakuten Viber is set to (Android), or what language your phone is set to (iOS).
To change the language your messages will be translated into:
Android
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on More
- Tap on Settings
- Tap on General
- Tap on Language
- Select the language
- Tap on the Checkmark*
*This will also change the language Rakuten Viber is displayed in
iOS
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on More
- Tap on Settings
- Tap Language
Once you tap Language, you will be taken to your phone’s settings where you can change your language settings for Rakuten Viber.
To translate a message:
Phone: long tap on the message and tap Translate.
Desktop: right-click on the message and click Translate.
The translated message will appear under the original message. The timestamp shown indicates the time the original (untranslated) message was sent.
IMPORTANT
Translations are done by 3rd parties. When a message is sent for translation, it is sent unencrypted to the translation service's servers.
You can share a post from a community with anyone outside the Rakuten Viber platform.
Copy link*
The receiver will see the post (if it’s a picture or video) with a link to the community (or just the link if you’re sharing a text-only message.)
- Long tap or right-click on the post
- Select Copy message link
*Only available in public communities.
Share media (pictures and videos)
The receiver will only see the picture or video without a link to the community.
- Long tap or right-click on the picture or video
- Select Share
- Choose where you would like to share the post
If you want to direct a message towards a community admin, or member, you can mention them. Mentioning helps other community members know exactly who you’re referring to and also alerts the person mentioned, even if they muted notifications from the community.
Please note that mentioning a member is only possible in communities where all members can post in the chat; otherwise, admins can only mention other admins. The member must also have previously posted in the community for others to be able to mention them. In other words, someone who has never posted in the community cannot be mentioned.
To mention an admin (or community member if they fit the above criteria):
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone or desktop
- Tap on Chats (phone)
- Select a community
- In the message field, type @ and select the person(s) you want to mention
- Write your message as usual
Continue your conversation in private by safely contacting other community members: unless a member is in your contact list, you/they won’t be able to see each other’s phone number or call one another.
To send a private message:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap on the profile picture of the person you want to send a message
- Tap Message (name of member)
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
- Under Members, select the person you want to contact
- Tap Message (name of member)
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Click on the profile picture of the person you want to send a message
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Click on Info
- Click Members
- Hover over the person you want to contact
- Click on the Message button
Notes
If a member has chosen not to accept private messages, you won’t be able to contact them.
Control if community members (who aren’t in your contact list) can message you:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
- Find Receive private messages
- Use the switch to allow members to send you messages or disable the option
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Click on Info
- Find Receive private messages
- Use the switch to allow members to send you messages or disable the option
Community members
In some communities you will have access to the entire member list, while in others you will only see a list of admins and Super-admins.
To find out who’s part of your community:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
A list of members will be displayed in the bottom half of the Info page. You will also see the total number of members and who is an admin/Super-admin.
Tap Show all and scroll through the list to find a member.
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community
- Click on Info
- Click on Members
- The total number of members will be displayed next to the word Members
Once you click on Members, you will see a list divided between (Super)admins and other community members (if available). Scroll through the list to find a member.
Spread the word about your favorite community by inviting your friends to join. If you don’t see the Invite button, it means that only (Super)admins can invite new members.
To send an invite:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen*
- Android: tap on Community info
- Tap Invite
- Select to whom you would like to send an invite (contacts, groups, communities, channels you manage)
- Tap the Checkmark (Android) or Invite button (iOS) to confirm
We do not recommend sending invitations to people you don’t know or people who don’t have your number saved.
*If you have an iPhone, you can tap Invite at the top of the screen, instead of tapping on Info.
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on desktop
- Select a community
- Click on Invite (top corner)
- Select to whom you would like to send an invite (contacts, groups, communities)
- Click Send
Once you send the invitation, your contacts will automatically be added to the community. If someone who isn’t a contact receives the invitation, they will need to accept the invite to join the community. We do not recommend sending invitations to people you don’t know or don’t have your number saved in their contact list.
You can share a community invite link with your friends outside of Rakuten Viber* or post it on a website, social media, and more to help bring more members to a community.
*If someone who doesn’t have Rakuten Viber opens the link, they will be prompted to download the Rakuten Viber app (only Rakuten Viber users can join communities on Rakuten Viber).
To get an invite link:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community for which you need a link
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
- Tap Invite
- Tap on the share button at the top of the screen (Android) or (iOS)
- Tap Copy to copy the link to your clipboard
From this page, you can also share the invite link with a contact or app outside of Rakuten Viber. If the link is disabled by a super-admin, it can no longer be used to view or join the community.
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community for which you need a link
- Click on the share button at the top of the screen
- Click on the Invite URL to copy the link to your clipboard
Notes
- If you don’t see the icon to share an invite link, it means that the Super-admin of the community has disabled this option. To invite someone to the community, you will need to ask the Super-admin to personally send them an invite
- Super-admins can disable community invite links. To ensure that you share the most recent link, make sure you follow the steps above
Notification settings
Highlight notifications let you know when something interesting is happening in the community (based on member reactions) while muting the rest of the messages.
To receive highlight notifications:
Phone (only available on Android)
- Open Rakuten Viber on your Android
- Tap on Chats
- Select the community for which you want to receive highlight notifications
- Tap Info
- Tap Community info
- Tap Notifications
- Select Highlights
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your Android
- Tap on Chats
- Long tap on the community for which you want to receive highlight notifications
- Tap Notifications
- Select Highlights
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- In the chat list, right-click on the community for which you want to receive highlight notifications
- Click on Notifications
- Select Highlights
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select the community for which you want to receive highlight notifications
- Click on Info
- Click on Notifications
- Select Highlights
To stop receiving highlights, follow the same steps, selecting either Muted or All (you will be notified of all messages sent) in the last step.
Mute a community to stop receiving message notifications. You will still see New message alerts next to the community in the chat list unless you snooze it.
To mute a community:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select the community you want to mute
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
Android: Tap on Notifications, and select Muted.
iOS: Tap on the switch next to Mute community.
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Long tap (Android)/swipe left (iOS) on the name of the community that you want to mute
- Android: tap on Notifications
- Tap Mute
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- In the chat list, right-click on the community that you want to mute
- Click on Notifications
- Select Muted
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community you want to mute
- Click on Info
- Click on Notifications
- Select Muted
To unmute the community, follow the same steps, selecting Unmute, instead of muted, in the last step.
Snoozing a community will bring the community chat to the bottom of the chat list and mute all message notifications for 30 days.
To snooze a community:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a community you want to put on snooze
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
- Tap Snooze for 30 days
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Long tap (Android)/swipe left (iOS) on the name of the community you want to put on snooze
- Tap Snooze
Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- In the chat list, right-click on the community that you want to put on snooze
- Select Snooze for 30 days
OR
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select a community you want to put on snooze
- Click on Info
- Select Snooze for 30 days
To unsnooze the community, follow the same instructions selecting Unsnooze in the last step.
If you no longer wish to be in a community, you can leave it and delete it from your chat list. To join the community again, someone will need to send you the community invite link.
To leave a community:
Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select the community you want to leave
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the community (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Community info
- Tap Leave and delete
- Confirm
- Open Rakuten Viber on your desktop
- Select the community you want to leave
- Click on Info
- Click Leave and delete at the bottom of the screen
- Confirm
Notes
If you are an admin or Super-admin, leaving will not delete the community itself.