Guest session duration for web messaging

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Genesys Cloud's guest session duration feature controls how long inactive web messaging sessions remain available before the system ends the session and initiates a new one, with a configurable range from 15 minutes to 18 months and a default value of 3 days. This setting is configured through Messenger Configuration in the Admin > Message > Messenger Configurations interface and operates independently of both message retention policies and messaging threading timelines. The inactivity timer resets whenever users or the system send, receive, or exchange messages or attachments in both anonymous and authenticated sessions. For sessions configured with durations under 1 hour, the welcome message notifies users of the expiration period, and Messenger displays a notification during the final 5 minutes before expiration showing approximate remaining time. Users can dismiss this notification, which will not reappear unless the session expires. Upon session expiration, users lose access to the previous session, Messenger clears the conversation transcript and resets the session state, and a new session begins when users reopen Messenger. Active sessions remain unaffected by subsequent changes to the Guest Session Duration setting. Message retention and messaging threading operate as separate systems. Genesys Cloud retains conversation history for Identified and Curated Contact records up to 18 months, while all other contact records retain conversation history for 15 days. The messaging threading timeline, configurable from 0 to 72 hours, controls how long internal messaging conversations remain open after agent or system disconnection and does not affect Guest Session Duration settings. Administrators can select preset durations or specify custom durations within the Behavior section of Messenger Configuration. Related configuration topics include web messaging setup, Messenger configuration, messaging threading timeline functionality, and the relationship between guest session duration and threading timeline settings. Users are directed to community resources for additional support and can provide feedback on documentation accuracy, completeness, currency, and clarity.

Guest session duration controls how long an inactive web messaging session remains available before Messenger ends the session and starts a new one. Guest session duration is configured in Messenger Configuration and operates independently of message retention and the messaging threading timeline.

The following sections describe how guest session duration works, what happens when a session expires, how it relates to message retention and the messaging threading timeline, and how to configure the setting.

Web messaging guest session duration and message retention

Guest Session Duration determines how long an inactive web messaging session remains available before it expires. Administrators configure this setting in Messenger Configuration. You can configure the duration from 15 minutes to 18 months, with a default value of 3 days. Guest Session Duration operates independently of the messaging threading timeline setting.

How guest session duration works

A guest session begins with the configured session duration. Messenger resets the inactivity timer whenever the user or the system sends or receives a message or attachment. This behavior applies to both anonymous and authenticated sessions.

If the configured session duration is less than 1 hour, the welcome message informs the user that the session expires after the specified period of inactivity. During the last 5 minutes before the session expires, Messenger displays a notification that shows the approximate time remaining in minutes. If the user dismisses the notification, Messenger does not display it again unless the session expires.

What happens when a session expires

When a guest session expires, the user can no longer access it. Messenger resets the session state and clears the conversation transcript. When the user opens Messenger again, it starts a new session. Changes to the Guest Session Duration setting do not affect sessions that are already active.

Message retention

Guest Session Duration controls how long an inactive guest session remains available. This setting operates independently of message retention.

For Identified and Curated Contact records, Genesys Cloud retains conversation history (Message TTL) for up to 18 months. For all other contact records, Genesys Cloud retains conversation history for 15 days.

Guest session duration and threading timeline

Guest Session Duration controls how long an end user’s inactive web messaging session remains available. The messaging threading timeline controls how long the internal messaging conversation remains open after the agent or system disconnects. You can configure the threading timeline from 0 to 72 hours. Changing the threading timeline does not affect the Guest Session Duration setting.

Configure guest session duration

To configure Guest Session Duration, navigate to Admin > Message > Messenger Configurations, edit the appropriate Messenger configuration, and then, in the Behavior section, select Guest Session Duration. Select a preset duration or choose Custom Duration. You can configure the duration from 15 minutes to 18 months. The default duration is 3 days.

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