You’re in a tight Brawl Ball match, your random teammate is sprinting straight at three enemy Brawlers with no backup, and you have no way to warn them to hold back. That frustration is exactly why so many players search how to turn on text chat in Brawl Stars. Supercell hides a lot of privacy-focused settings by default to keep younger players safe, so it’s totally normal if you can’t find the chat toggle right away. I’ve played Brawl Stars on and off for four years, and I still run into players who had no idea text chat even existed for the first six months of their playtime. This guide walks you through every step, plus fixes for common glitches and rules to keep your chat experience positive.
Step-by-Step: How to Turn on Text Chat in Brawl Stars
The process only takes 30 seconds once you know where to look, and you don’t need to restart your game for changes to take effect. First, open Brawl Stars and tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of the main screen. Next, tap the Settings button, marked with a gear icon, from the dropdown menu. Scroll down until you see the “Social” section of the settings menu, between the Controls and Notifications sections.
Look for the toggle labeled Text Chat and tap it to switch it on. If you’re under 16, you might be prompted to enter a parent or guardian’s email to approve the setting change, since Supercell has strict COPPA compliance rules for younger players. Once you toggle it on, you can exit the settings menu immediately — your changes save automatically. If you don’t see the text chat toggle at all, it’s likely because your account is registered to a region where text chat is restricted, or your age on your Supercell ID is set to under 13, which disables all chat functions entirely. Once you know how to turn on text chat in Brawl Stars, you’ll wonder how you ever played team modes without it.
Common Text Chat Issues and How to Fix Them
Even after you turn on text chat, you might run into glitches that stop it from working properly. I’ve dealt with every single one of these at some point, so these fixes are tested and work 90% of the time:
- Chat is greyed out in matches: This usually happens if you’re playing a mode that doesn’t support text chat, like Solo Showdown or Friendly Matches with chat disabled by the host. Only team modes like 3v3 Brawl Ball, Siege, and Duo Showdown support team text chat by default.
- You can’t see other players’ messages: Double check that you didn’t accidentally turn on mute all text chat in the in-match menu. You can access this by tapping the three dots in the top right corner during a match, then checking the chat mute status.
- The text chat toggle disappears after you restart the game: This is a common bug for players who use multiple devices on the same Supercell ID. To fix it, log out of your account on all other devices, turn on text chat on your main device, then restart the game once before logging back in on other devices.
If none of these fixes work, you can reach out to Supercell support through the settings menu to report the bug. They usually respond within 24 hours, and they can check if there’s an account-specific restriction you’re not aware of. Keep in mind that text chat is also disabled during ranked matches in some regions to reduce toxicity and cheating, so you might not have access to it in Power League even if your settings are turned on.
Best Practices for Using Text Chat in Team Matches
Now that you have text chat turned on, it’s important to use it in a way that helps your team win, instead of tilting your teammates or getting you reported. I’ve climbed to Mythic rank in almost every 3v3 mode, and I can tell you good chat usage wins way more matches than a perfectly maxed Brawler. First, keep messages short and actionable during matches. You only have a few seconds between respawns to type, so stick to phrases like “go left,” “defend goal,” or “save super” instead of long sentences.
Second, avoid typing when you’re alive and in a fight — I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen a teammate stop moving mid-fight to type a complaint, only to get taken out immediately and cost us the match. If you have something longer to say, wait until you’re respawning or the match is over. Third, don’t spam negative messages if your team is losing. Even if a teammate makes a mistake, a quick “no worries” is way more likely to get them to play better than calling them bad. Supercell also has an automated chat filter that picks up toxic language, and repeated reports can get your chat privileges revoked temporarily or permanently. You can also customize your quick chat messages in the settings menu to have pre-written phrases for common situations, which is way faster than typing mid-match.
How to Customize Your Text Chat Privacy Settings
Supercell gives you a lot of control over who can message you, so you don’t have to deal with toxic randoms if you don’t want to. After you turn on text chat, head back to the Social section of settings to adjust these options to fit your preferences. First, you can choose to only receive text chat from people on your friends list, which disables chat entirely in matches with random teammates. This is a great option for younger players or anyone who just wants to avoid random toxicity while playing with friends.
You can also mute individual players during a match by tapping their name on the scoreboard and selecting “mute chat.” This is perfect if one teammate is being toxic but you still want to communicate with the rest of your team. Another useful setting is the profanity filter, which is turned on by default. You can turn it off if you want, but I recommend keeping it on for most players, as it blocks most slurs and toxic language automatically. If you’re a parent setting up an account for your kid, you can also use the Supercell Parent Portal to disable text chat entirely, even if your kid tries to turn it on through the settings. You can also turn off chat for specific game modes if you only want to use it when playing with friends you know.
At the end of the day, text chat is a small but powerful tool that makes team play in Brawl Stars way more fun and effective. Now that you know how to turn on text chat in Brawl Stars, you can coordinate with your teammates, pull off sick plays, and avoid the frustration of silent randoms who run straight into enemy fire. Just remember to use chat responsibly, adjust your privacy settings to fit your comfort level, and don’t let toxic players ruin your fun. Next time you queue up for a Brawl Ball match, you’ll be able to tell your teammate to stop chasing kills and defend the goal before it’s too late.