The comm screen allows you to communicate with other agents, and also provides a stream of some agent actions and Ingress news.
Open the comm screen by tapping the activities view at the upper-right or the alert view at the lower-right of the scanner, or by selecting “Comm” from the menu (available by tapping the menu ring at the bottom of the scanner). It is also available at the lower-left corner of the intel map. In your scanner, there is a range slider located just below the tab strip; it is recommended that you adjust this to only show you chatter and actions from your local area. On the intel map, there is a checkbox that allows you to filter the comm to only show chatter and actions from the displayed map area. At the bottom of the comm panel in both the scanner and the intel map is a text field where you can type messages to other agents.
The comm panel has four tabs:
- “Activities” shows agent actions (attacks, deploys, links, etc.) Every action displayed will show the portal at which that action occurred. You can quickly jump to view that portal by clicking it.
- “Alerts” shows attacks on your portals and people mentioning you by name (see below). This view also provides links to the corresponding portals.
- “Chat” shows messages between agents. This is further divided into “Faction” (messages shared between members of your faction) and “Cross-Faction” (messages shared between members of opposite factions). Faction messages aren’t visible to members of the other faction (but see the caveat below). To send a message, select “Faction” or “Cross-Faction” to set its visibility, then tap the keyboard button at the lower-right to type in your message.
- “News” shows official news items from Niantic.
When someone mentions your agent name by putting an at-sign (@) in front of it, you will receive a notification (unless you have disabled them), and the message will appear in the Alerts tab as well as Chat. Clicking an agent’s name in the comm will automatically insert a mention of that agent into the comm input field to make it more convenient to direct a message to a particular agent. (Make sure to select the “Faction” tab if you don’t want the opposition to see your message!)
Long pressing an agent name anywhere in the scanner app will call up a menu of options:
- View Player Profile: View that agent’s profile.
- Send Message: Inserts the agent’s call sign (prepended with an at-sign) into the comm entry field so you can send them a message.
- Block agent in COMM: Hides any messages sent by the agent, and suppresses any notifications that would normally be caused by the agent using your call sign in a message. You will still see their activity, however. If you change your mind, the “Settings” screen has an option that will let you unblock a previously-blocked agent.
Reach out in the comm and in online communities to find high-level agents in your area; they can help you level up! Leveling is much harder when attempted solo. Be aware, however, that the comm and some online communities may contain enemy moles. Be careful not to discuss sensitive details about your faction’s activities on insecure channels. Many local cells set up verified communities and chat channels for secure communication. The most common chat platforms in use in Ingress communities are Google Hangouts, Slack, Telegram and Discord.
History
- 24 September 2013: The “Alerts” tab is added.
- 9 October 2013: The comm begins displaying notices when agents create links, and long-pressing agent names to view their profile or send them a message becomes possible.
- 5 December 2013: Agents can block others on the comm.
- 6 March 2014: The range filter becomes more granular.
- 5 November 2018: Ingress Prime is released, which includes a revamp of the comm. Activities are separated from chat, and it’s more obvious whether a message you were sending is cross-faction or not.
- 7 December 2020: The news feed is added.