Pricing, trial, privacy, requirements

How much does Campfire cost? Can I use it for free?
Campfire ranges from a free plan to $12/month, $24/month, or $49/month depending on how many people/clients you want to chat with and how many rooms you want to create (see the signup page for the complete pricing chart). When you sign up for the first time you sign up for the free plan. You can use the free plan for as long as you want. This will allow you to fully test Campfire before you decide if you want to pay for the service.

I’m a Basecamp, Highrise, or Backpack Max Plan subscriber. How do I activate my free Premium Campfire Account?
First, sign up for a Campfire account here if you haven't done so already: https://signup.37signals.com/campfire/free/signup/new. Second, email support@campfirenow.com with both your Campfire and Basecamp, Highrise, or Backpack URLs. Once we receive this information, we will upgrade your Campfire account to Premium at no additional cost. If you already have a Campfire account just email us your URL and we’ll convert your account to a free Premium account. Note: If you downgrade or cancel your Basecamp, Highrise, or Backpack account your Campfire account will no longer be free.

Do you read our chats? What about privacy?
We do not read your chats — your conversations are your conversations. Please refer to our privacy policy for additional details.

What web browsers are compatible with Campfire?
Campfire requires Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox. Campfire doesn't work with Internet Explorer 5.x. Other browsers may or may not work, but only the three listed are guaranteed compatible.

Is Campfire secure?
Plus and Premium Campfire plans are SSL secure. The Basic plan does not include SSL. All plans are password protected — the only people who can chat are people you've invited.

Can we install Campfire on our own server?
No. Campfire is only available as a hosted service.

People, members, and guests

What are “simultaneous chatters” ?
Simultaneous chatters are the total number of people chatting across your account in all your rooms at one time. This not a limitation per room, but an aggregate across all rooms. For example, 78 people may have accounts in your system, but if you're on the Plus plan only 25 of them can be in your chat rooms at one time.

What’s the difference between Members and Guests?
Members have permanent accounts and have access to all chat rooms. Members also have access to transcripts. Guests, on the other hand, are only permitted in the room to which they were invited and don’t have access to transcripts. Think about using guests for quick, temporary chats or one-off group chats with people you don’t plan on chatting with again.

Can guests view transcripts? Can they see conversations or files added prior to entering a room?
Guests cannot see transcripts nor can they see conversations that took place before they entered a room or files uploaded before they entered the room. They’ll start with a blank screen.

How do I kick out a guest that I don’t want anymore?
Guest access is either on or off. To turn off guest access, and remove all guests from a room, go into the room and click the “Turn it off” link in the “Guest access is on” box in the sidebar.

My guests are complaining that the URL doesn’t work anymore. What’s up?
Every time you turn guest access on you generate a new guest URL. It’s likely your guests are trying to use an old URL. Give them the new URL and they’ll get in just fine. Note: Each room has its own guest URL and guest access is controlled on a room-by-room basis.

Chat privacy, security, and permissions

Are our chats private?
Yes, chats can only be accessed by members with passwords or by guests with the guest URL. If you don’t want guests to be able to access a chat make sure “Guest access is off” (you’ll see that control in the sidebar in a chat room).

Are chats secure?
Plus and Premium level accounts include 128-bit SSL encryption to keep your chats completely secure. This is the same level of security as online banks. All chat accounts are protected by usernames and passwords.

Can we lock rooms, have confidential chats, and/or prevent members from accessing certain rooms in Campfire?
Yes, you can do both of these. To lock room: In the upper right of every room, next to “Who’s here,” is a link that says “Lock room.” When you click on it, this room is locked and off the record. No one else can enter this room. Any conversations (and uploaded files) will not be logged to the transcript while the room is locked. To give/remove access to a room: Click on the “Members” tab in the upper right of the screen. Then find the person you want to remove access from and click the link associated with their name that says “Restrict...” (or “Change”). You can then select which rooms they can access (a checkmark means they can access that room). This person will only be able to enter and view transcripts for the rooms chosen here. Note: You must have admin access to set permissions.

Files

Why are there only 3 files listed in the sidebar? Where did the other files go?
The sidebar only shows the 3 latest uploaded files in a chat room. You can click the “Files & Transcripts” tab at the top of the screen to gain access to all the files uploaded to a room.

Is there an individual file size limit?
Yes, each file you upload must be 10 MB or less.

How do I delete a file?
Click the Files & Transcripts tab, find the file, hover over the name of the file, and you’ll see an option to delete that file.

Chat room tips and tricks

Type a person’s full name with just a few characters.
What do you do when there are many people in the chat room and you want to direct a question or answer to a specific person? Simply start your message with the “@” sign and the first few characters of that person’s name until a yellow box displays showing that person’s full name. Send your message and that person’s full name will display in front of your statement in the chat room.

Keep things light with sound effects.
Type “/play crickets”, “/play rimshot”, or “/play trombone” and share a laugh with your group.

Note: These shortcuts may not work if you are using a 3rd party application to access Campfire chat.