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Use widgets and Live Activities

Add Pengo widgets to your Home Screen and Lock Screen, change your availability from Control Center or Quick Settings, and pin chats as Live Activities.

Mobile apps 3 min read Updated
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Widgets show what’s waiting at a glance, and controls let you change your availability without opening Pengo. Add them the same way as any other widget on your phone.

#iPhone and iPad widgets

Touch and hold an empty spot on your Home Screen or Lock Screen, tap Edit, then add a widget and search for Pengo.

WidgetSizesShows
Pengo inboxSmall, medium, and Lock Screen (circular, rectangular, inline)Chats that need you and your availability.
Needs youMedium, large, and Lock Screen (circular)Chats Pengo Intelligence handed to a person that nobody has taken yet.

#Pengo inbox

  • Small: your availability and how many chats need you: unassigned chats plus your own chats with unread messages.
  • Medium: Waiting, Yours and Live visitor counts, plus Available, Away and Offline buttons to change your availability right from the widget.
  • Lock Screen: the same count, or a line such as “Pengo: 2 need you”.

Tap the widget to open the inbox.

#Needs you

Each waiting chat shows the visitor’s name, how long they’ve waited and a Take over button. Tap it to take the chat and open it. The medium size shows 2 chats and the large size shows 4. The sparkle shows how many chats Pengo Intelligence is handling. When nobody is waiting, the widget says All clear.

#Control Center

Add the Available for chats control to Control Center or your Lock Screen. Tap it to switch between Available and Away without opening Pengo. It shows Paused when you chose Online but no Pengo app or browser tab is open to take chats.

#Live Activities

On iPhone, Live Activities keep a conversation on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.

  • Pin a chat: in a conversation, tap ⋯ and choose Pin to Lock Screen. The activity shows the latest message with Reply and Resolve buttons. It ends when you open the chat, or choose Unpin from Lock Screen.
  • New chats and handoffs can also appear here on their own when you’re not active in Pengo.
  • Intelligence Pulse shows who Pengo Intelligence is talking to, and offers Take over when someone needs a person. Turn it on in More Notifications . See Set up push notifications.

#Android widget

Touch and hold an empty spot on your home screen, tap Widgets, find Pengo and drag the Needs you widget onto your screen. You can resize it.

The widget lists conversations Pengo Intelligence handed to a person that nobody has claimed yet, with how long each visitor has waited. Tap one to claim it and open it. The widget also shows how many chats Intelligence is handling, and All clear when nobody is waiting.

#Android Quick Settings tile

  1. Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings.

  2. Tap the edit (pencil) button.

  3. Drag the Pengo tile into your active tiles.

Tap the tile to switch between Online and Away. Under its name, it shows your status and how many chats need you, for example “Online · 2 need you”.

Common questions

Why does my widget say Paused?

Online only takes chats while Pengo is open on one of your devices. When no Pengo app or browser tab is open, Pengo pauses you. Open Pengo to go back Online.

What does Take over do in the Needs you widget?

It takes the chat that Pengo Intelligence handed to a person and opens it in the app, so you can reply straight away.

Do widgets show message text?

The Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show counts, visitor names and your availability, not what visitors wrote. A pinned Live Activity shows the latest message, which is hidden while your iPhone is locked if you turned on Face ID in Pengo.

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