Managing Your Contacts in Flash

Learn how to access, add, and interact with contacts in the Flash app

Contacts

Managing Your Contacts in Flash

This guide provides a complete overview of Flash’s Contacts feature, explaining how to find, add, and interact with your contacts for messaging and Bitcoin payments.

Table of Contents

Accessing Your Contacts

You can access your contacts through the Chat screen in Flash:

From the Chat Screen

  • Open the Flash app and tap the Chat icon in the bottom navigation
  • At the top of the Chat screen, you’ll see a “Contacts” tab that provides access to your contact list

Finding Contacts

The Contacts interface makes it easy to locate the people you want to connect with:

  1. Browse Your Contact List

    • Your contacts are automatically sorted with most frequent interactions at the top
    • Scroll through your list to find people you regularly transact with
  2. Use the Search Bar

    • At the top of the Contacts view, you’ll find a search bar
    • Tap it and enter a name to quickly find specific contacts
    • This is especially useful when you have many contacts in your list

Adding New Contacts

Flash offers multiple ways to add new contacts to your network:

  1. Add Manually

    • Tap the ”+” button in the top-right corner of the Contacts view
    • Enter their Flash username or Lightning address
    • Confirm to add them to your contacts
  2. Scan a QR Code

    • From the ”+” menu, select the scan option
    • Use your camera to scan someone’s Flash QR code
    • This instantly adds them to your contacts
  3. Automatic Addition

    • Flash automatically adds people to your contacts when you send or receive a payment
    • This creates a self-maintaining system focused on actual financial relationships
    • No manual contact management required

Interacting with Contacts

Once you’ve added contacts, you can interact with them in several ways:

Viewing Contact Details

  • Tap on any contact to open their profile
  • Here you’ll see their profile information, transaction history, and available actions
  • Contact details include their username, profile picture, and payment address

Starting a Chat

  • From a contact’s profile, tap the “Message” button to open or create a chat thread
  • You can also send messages directly from the chat tab by selecting the contact
  • Messages are end-to-end encrypted when both users are on the NOSTR protocol

Viewing Transaction History

  • Each contact’s profile displays your complete payment history
  • This helps you track your financial interactions over time
  • The history includes payment amounts, dates, and any attached notes

Sending Bitcoin to Contacts

Flash makes it simple to send Bitcoin to your contacts:

Send from Contact Profile

  • Open a contact’s profile and tap the “Send” button
  • Enter the amount, add an optional note, and confirm the payment
  • The transaction is processed instantly via the Lightning Network

Send from Chat

  • During a chat conversation, tap the Lightning icon to initiate a payment
  • This allows you to seamlessly mix communication and payments in a single thread
  • The recipient receives a notification of your payment in the chat

Quick Payments with Saved Amounts

  • For frequent contacts, Flash may display quick payment buttons
  • These common amounts are based on your payment history
  • Tap a quick payment button to send that amount with just one action

Contact Privacy and Security

Your Flash contacts are designed with privacy and security as priorities:

  • Local Storage: Your contact list is stored only on your device, not on centralized servers

  • Private Relationships: Your transaction history remains private between you and each contact

  • NOSTR Integration: Contacts who also use NOSTR provide end-to-end encrypted messaging

  • Manual Control: You can remove any contact at any time by swiping left on their entry and tapping “Delete”

The Contacts feature in Flash creates a seamless bridge between your social connections and financial transactions, making Bitcoin payments as simple as sending a message.