Text Chat in Fortnite
Update (January 22, 2026): We updated this blog to reflect new text chat features — including persistent DMs and groups — being more widely available.
How to Text Chat in Fortnite
There are four ways to text chat in Fortnite – in a Party chat, Game chat, direct message, or in groups. Here’s how it works:
-Party chat: When you join a party, you will automatically be connected to the Party chat and can chat with all of your party members across any Fortnite island you’re playing. Party chat persists for as long as you’re in Fortnite and in that party.
-Game chat: When you join an island that supports Game chat, you’re in a public conversation with other players who are on the same instance of the island, regardless of their location on the island. Game chat persists for as long as you’re on the island. It is up to developers to decide whether they support Game chats in their islands, and whether the channel includes all players on the island or just teams.
-Direct messages (DMs): You can send one-on-one messages to other players on your friends list. To DM friends, you can hit the “+” button when the text chat window is open, you can click the “Send message” button from your friend’s profile, or you can select “New chat” in the sidebar “Chats” tab. Direct messages persist for 30 days. Note: you can only send or receive DMs from players on your Epic friends list.
-Groups: When you join a group, you’re joining a conversation with friends and connections (people who aren’t your direct friends but are linked to you through your friends). Groups can have up to 16 members and messages persist for 30 days. You can create and manage groups from the sidebar “Chats” tab.
You can find your text chats, friend requests, and friends list in the redesigned sidebar. DM and group text chats sync across Fortnite, the Epic Games Launcher, and the Epic Games Store and Epic Games mobile apps.
A group chat in the sidebar “Chats” tab.
Text Chat Filters & Reporting
The “Personal Information” text chat filter helps remove certain types of information — like email addresses and credit card numbers — from text chat conversations in real-time. The mature language filter helps remove various kinds of mature language and toxicity. Both filters will always be on for players under 13 in all text chats and always on for all players in Game chats.
Similar to voice reporting, if messages are reportable in a text chat, you will be able to submit your text chats to Epic as evidence for review when reporting suspected violations of our Community Rules. This will help us take action against players who violate our rules. You can learn more about text reporting in our text and voice reporting FAQs.
Automated Text Reporting
We added automated text reporting for self-harm, child endangerment, and threats of real-world violence. Our systems automatically detect categories of potentially high-harm interactions and submit a report to Epic for review. Confirmed violations result in escalation to law enforcement and account bans.
Automated text reporting is always on in all Game chats and in all text conversations with players under 18. Automated text reporting is off in a direct message, Party chat, or in groups when all participants are 18 or over. When all text reporting is off, the text channel is marked, “Text reporting off.”
You can manage your text chat settings in the “Communications settings” tab, and parents and guardians can use Parental Controls to manage chat permissions for their child’s account.
Developers can choose to include text chat in their islands, so players can socialize and strategize.