LiveChat updates

Ban cookie – a more effective way to block troublemakers

Spammers can be a pain, but there are ways to block them. The LiveChat banning feature just got more badass thanks to the ban cookie. With the cookie, it’s now more difficult for unwanted visitors to avoid the ban even if they change their IP address.

Until now, banning was IP based only. It worked fine to the point when you got a pesky and persistent type who kept changing their IP address and continued to bother you. Those times are over – you can now ban visitors by IP and set an additional ban cookie on their browser.

How it works

The feature is very easy to use. To set a ban cookie, simply ban the troublemaker either from an active chat or from the Archives. We will do the technical part and place the cookie on the visitor’s browser. This method makes it harder for spammers to avoid the ban with proxies or VPNs thus making it more permanent.

LiveChat 8.2.7 for Windows

LiveChat app for Windows continues to get better. Today’s release contains a bunch of bug fixes and a few small, but noteworthy interface improvements that enhance the app’s overall look and feel.

Let’s take a sneak peek into what’s new and improved in version 8.2.7

• Fixed login link: After logging out of the app, it was impossible to log back in with the login link. It would do nothing, but sit there in the corner and annoy you with its unusability. Well, we’ve fixed that (Thanks for letting us know, Sarah!).
• Improved logs: Now, if you have any problem with your app, you can create a support ticket, attach logs and send it to our support straight from the app. It makes things easier, faster and more convenient for everyone, but let’s hope you won’t need to use this feature all that often.
• Improved app closing: Closing down and getting going is now easier and more intuitive. Yep, we’ve heard you loud and clear. Clicking the X option in the upper right corner will now close the app instead of minimizing it to tray and staying connected.
• You may also notice (and hopefully enjoy) improved look of the dialog boxes. They’ve been vamped up for the pure pleasure of looking at pretty things.

Enjoy this update and please let us know if you discover any bugs or just want to share your feedback at: feedback@livechatinc.com

Buttery smooth animation when opening the chat window

Sometimes, the devil is in the details and paying attention to the little things can have a major effect on the big picture. Today’s update is just it – another small detail that adds to the overall LiveChat experience and definitely makes it more enjoyable. I’ll spare you the technical mumbo jumbo. Let’s just say that after some code enhancements, the chat window now opens with a smooth, easy movement and this animation just makes you want to click it more.

Details like this one are what set good things apart from great. Enjoy!

Thumbs for the Post-chat survey

You might notice things looking a bit different in the Post-chat survey today. Additionally to using the thumbs feature during a chat, customers can now rate your service after the chat ends. It’s a great boost to the in-chat thumbs which may sometimes go unnoticed.

The truth is that most people won’t bother to tell you if something goes wrong unless it’s really bad or you ask them directly. Prompting your customers for feedback after they close the chat, you not only ensure they won’t overlook the rating, but also increase the odds of customers sharing their experience.

Surveys asking to rate each chat session give you a first hand knowledge of your service quality and are a first step towards making it better.

Improved message sending

We’ve listened to you and changed how the chat window behaves during problems with the Internet connection. Now, when your Internet is down, LiveChat will let you know right away to eliminate messages sent in vain.

If you see the message field in the chat turn yellow, it means sending messages is paused till your connection clears. All this to save you clicks and frustration on posting messages that can’t go through. Once you reconnect to the Internet, you’ll receive all postponed messages from customers and be able to post again.

New LiveChat for iOS on the App Store

Version 2.4.8 is waiting for you in the App Store. The app will now warn you when your push notifications are off, so that you don’t miss on any message from your customers.

Here’s what’s new in version 2.4.8:

• The Profile screen is better looking and easier to use.
• We added a quick access button to your iOS push notification settings.
• We also added a badge in the Profile tab that will warn you when your push notifications are off.
• The banner “You are currently not accepting chats” is now more compact in size and fits better to the screen.
• Fixed: Remember this awkward white space on the right of the message input field? We got rid of it.
• Fixed: A crash when signing in with Google with no Internet connection.
• Fixed: A crash when signing in with Google after your access token expired.
• Fixed: Going from a chat to the list of all chats, the first chat on the list used to bounce. Well, it doesn’t anymore.
• Fixed: Up there in the Visitors tab are labels for visitor statuses. For inexplicable reasons, the “Left website” label was gone, so we put it back.

We hope you will enjoy it!

Your opinion is important to us. Tell us what you think about the app: feedback@livechatinc.com

Preview images in chats

Today’s update makes sharing images quicker and more convenient. Agents of all plans can now preview images received in chats without opening them.

This nifty feature will save time and clicks when supporting customers. The next time a customer attaches an image, agents will instantly see it in the chat window.

Refurbishing around the panel

We’ve moved things around for easier navigation. Greetings, Eye-catcher and Chat buttons are now grouped in one handy category. Since they all boost customer engagement, we called the category… Engagements. The features themselves have not changed, they’re just easier to find and use.

URL rules is another feature that changed. It’s embarrassing, but even our developers found it too hard to use. With that in mind, we’ve redesigned the experience by removing technical jargon and making the darn thing look sexy. The only thing that didn’t change is the functionality. You can still use URL rules to route chats to specific groups of agents or play with the look of your chat window on different pages. Learn more…

Integration with Salesforce

New integration with Salesforce is ready! It enables you to add your customers to Salesforce as Leads or Contacts, and pass related chat transcripts as Cases directly from the LiveChat panel.

Therefore, your agents will be able to view and edit all the essential data about a customer during the chat and stay updated.

Learn more about the integration with Salesforce.

Credit card masking extended to all plans

Customers sometimes provide their credit card numbers during a chat, although they shouldn’t. Keep their sensitive data away from prying eyes by enabling Credit card masking.

Credit card numbers are identified in chats using the Luhn algorithm. When a customer enters a number that matches the credit card pattern, all characters but last 4 will be masked. Keeping sensitive data out of your LiveChat lets you meet the high PCI DSS security standards.

CC masking used to be available to the Enterprise users but is now a part of all plans. You can enable it under the Security section > Credit card masking.