Turning on private attachments in messaging

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<p class="p">Zendesk messaging attachments allow both agents and end users to send and receive various
types of files within a messaging conversation. This is helpful for providing detailed
support, sharing necessary documents, and improving the overall communication
experience.</p>
<p class="p">Messaging attachments can be either conversation-scoped or app-scoped. App-scoped
attachments refer to files or documents that are linked to a specific account within a
broader platform or system, such as Zendesk. These attachments are accessible by anyone
that is associated with the account. These files still require authentication, ensuring
that only authorized users can access them. When using the post message API to send an
app-scoped attachment, all participants across any conversation within the account who
have access to the URL will be able to access the attachment.</p>
<div class="note note" id="messaging_private_attachments__note_b55_svr_mdc">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> The private attachments in messaging feature is on by default
for accounts created on or after December 5, 2024. Make sure to turn on <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408842669594-Enabling-secure-chat-attachments-in-the-Zendesk-Agent-Workspace" target="_blank">secure downloads</a>. This setting controls
whether agent-facing attachment URLs require authentication, and should be enabled to
ensure attachments are always kept private.</div>
<p class="p">For information about configuring private attachments, see <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/zendesk-web-widget-sdks/messaging_private_attachments/" target="_blank">Configuring private attachments for
messaging</a>.</p>
<p class="p">This article includes the following sections:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="messaging_private_attachments__ul_ktl_wfk_vcc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_qjl_wvr_mdc">Understanding how private attachments differ from public attachments</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_v1r_rwr_mdc">Supported file types for messaging attachments</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_zhs_n5t_dfc">Turning on private attachments for messaging</a></li>
</ul>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_qjl_wvr_mdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Understanding how private attachments differ from public attachments</h2>
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<p class="p">Private and public attachments offer ways to store and distribute documents or files
within systems, each providing varying degrees of accessibility. Both can be
uploaded, downloaded, and managed with a user interface or an API, depending on the
system's configuration. </p>
<p class="p">A private attachment is an attachment that is only accessible within the specific
conversation in which it was shared. To access the attachment, a client must <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4411666638746-Authenticating-end-users-for-messaging" target="_blank"><u class="ph u">authenticate themselves</u></a> to prove
they have permission to view it.</p>
<p class="p">Here are some comparisons between public and private attachments in messaging.</p>
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<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d3302e107" style="vertical-align:top;"> </th>
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d3302e109" style="vertical-align:top;">Public attachments</th>
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d3302e112" style="vertical-align:top;">Private attachments</th>
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<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e107" style="vertical-align:top;">Accessibility</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e109" style="vertical-align:top;">Accessible to anyone who has the link or access to the channel
where the attachment is shared. No specific permissions are required
to view public attachments, making them suitable for information
intended for general distribution.</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e112" style="vertical-align:top;">Restricted based on user permissions or participation in a
private messaging conversation between the agent and the end user.
Private attachments are ideal for confidential or sensitive
information that should not be accessible to everyone on the
platform.</td>
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<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e107" style="vertical-align:top;">Use cases</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e109" style="vertical-align:top;">Often used for less sensitive information like general
announcements, public reports, marketing materials, or any content
intended for wide distribution.</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e112" style="vertical-align:top;">Commonly used for sharing confidential documents such as personal
information, internal reports, strategic documents, or any other
content that requires controlled access.</td>
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<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e107" style="vertical-align:top;">Security measures</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e109" style="vertical-align:top;">Extensive security controls are not applied because these files
are intended for public access.</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e112" style="vertical-align:top;">Robust security measures are in place, including strict
authentication protocols to guard against unauthorized
access.</td>
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<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e107" style="vertical-align:top;">Visibility and tracking</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e109" style="vertical-align:top;">Visibility is broad, and tracking who has accessed the document
can be challenging unless specific analytic tools are
employed.</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d3302e112" style="vertical-align:top;">Access can be closely monitored, and usage analytics are often
more detailed, allowing administrators to see who has accessed the
file and when (based on their IP address).</td>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_v1r_rwr_mdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Supported file types for messaging attachments</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Zendesk messaging supports the following file types as attachments:</p>
<p class="p">3g2, 3gp, 7z, aac, amr, avi, bmp, caf, csv, doc, docx, eml, gif, heic, heif, ics,
jfif, jpeg, jpg, key, log, m4a, m4v, mov, mp3, mp4, mp4a, mpeg, mpg, mpga, neon,
numbers, odt, oga, ogg, ogv, opus, pages, pdf, pkpass, png, pps, ppsx, ppt, pptx,
qt, svg, tif, tiff, txt, usdz, vcf, wav, webm, webp, wmv, xls, xlsx, xml, yaml, yml,
zip</p>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_zhs_n5t_dfc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Turning on private attachments for messaging</h2>
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<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To turn on private attachments for messaging</strong></p>
<ol class="ol">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_zhs_n5t_dfc__d18e1488" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Tickets &gt; Settings</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Downloads and attachments</strong> to expand it.</li>
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">Enable secure downloads in messaging</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">At the bottom of the page, click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
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