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Features and Enhancements delivered in the April 23, 2018 Amazon Chime release

Windows, macOS, iOS and Android have been released.

Amazon Chime pricing changes (announced 3/12/18)

On April 1, 2018, our new usage-based pricing was applied to all Amazon Chime Team and Enterprise accounts. Instead of paying a monthly fee for each user, you now only pay for what you use. New and current customers, automatically receive this new pricing model - there is nothing that you need to do. See https://aws.amazon.com/chime/pricing for more details.

We’ve made the following changes to support our new usage-based pricing model:

Basic, Plus and Pro license tiers are now Basic and Pro permissions

We now support two permissions, Basic and Pro. The features that were previously limited for Plus users (1:1 calling with screen share and remote desktop control) are now included for users with Basic permissions - our new free tier. When assigning permissions, the two available options are Basic and Pro.



This also applies when assigning permissions to users in Team or EnterpriseLWA accounts, or when creating directory groups in an EnterpriseDirectory account.

Migration from license tiers to Basic and Pro permissions

On April 1, 2018, users who previously had the Plus license assigned to them were migrated to Basic permissions, which restricts their access to Pro features. Users with Basic permissions can attend meetings, start 1:1 calls with video, screen share and remote control, and use chat and chat room features at no charge.

Users who were receiving ProTrial access and were members of an Amazon Chime Team or Enterprise account were migrated to Pro permissions to ensure that any meetings they might have scheduled would be started.

The default permission for new users is Pro

By default, users in Team or Enterprise accounts are assigned Pro permissions. Basic permissions can be assigned using the Amazon Chime console. If you set up an EnterpriseDirectory account, you can assign Pro and Basic permissions using Directory groups which are applied upon user registration.

Amazon Chime provides service usage reporting (launched 3/30/18)

Amazon Chime now provides you with the ability to view detailed reporting information about your account. This data gives you visibility into how your users are using Amazon Chime and information about their experience.

With this update, we added a metric that shows the number of total chat messages sent by your users in 1:1 and group conversations, chat rooms, and meeting chat. You can now see up to 12 weeks of data showing total registered users (all time), current number of active users, number of meetings held, the percentage of positive meeting feedback and the number of chat messages sent during the period.

To view reporting data, navigate to the Amazon Chime console, choose the Amazon Chime account and then choose Dashboard under Reports.


Select a highlighted value in the Meetings held column to see a list of meetings that ended during the period. You can also see when each meeting started, what type of meeting it was, the meeting organizer, the total duration of the meeting, and the number of attendees.


Drill down further into meeting details and events by choosing a Conference ID or quickly navigate to a host’s user details page by selecting the meeting organizer link. See https://answers.chime.aws/articles/474/amazon-chime-dashboard-report.html for more information about the Amazon Chime Report dashboard and user activity details and the data provided in each.


When using IAM policies to manage access to the Amazon Chime Administration console and administrator reporting, use one of the Amazon Chime managed policies (FullAccess, UserManagement, ReadOnly) or update the custom policy(s) to include:

• The ListAccountUsageReportData action to grant IT administrators access to the Dashboard page.
• The GetUserActivityReportData action to grant IT administrators access to view the summary of user activity on the User details page.
• The GetMeetingDetail action to grant IT administrators access to drill down and view attendee, connection, and other details for a meeting. *
• The ListMeetingEvents action to grant IT administrators access to drill down and view all events that occurred for a meeting from the Dashboard. *
• The ListMeetingReportData action to grant IT administrators to drill down and view meetings that ended during the date range from the Dashboard. *
  
  * Not included in the Amazon Chime ReadOnly managed policy

For more information about Amazon Chime and IAM see this article ( Amazon Chime Actions for IAM policies) or consult the Administration Guide: Admin Guide Control Access.

Request attachments uploaded to Amazon Chime

Amazon Chime now offers the ability to request and receive attachments that have been uploaded to the service. There are two different methods provided, one for IT administrators for Enterprise accounts and another for Amazon Chime users that are not managed in an Amazon Chime Enterprise account. Note: IT administrators that manage users as part of an Amazon Chime Team account can claim one or more domains to take advantage of this feature.

IT administrators for Amazon Chime Enterprise accounts

IT administrators that manage Amazon Chime Enterprise accounts can use the Amazon Chime console to get attachments that their managed users uploaded into 1:1 and group conversations or into chat rooms that they created. Administrators with the appropriate permissions can initiate the request by navigating to the Amazon Chime account, selecting Account under Settings, and choosing Request attachments from the Account actions menu.
When you submit your request, the system processes your request in approximately 24 hours, and provides a file containing a list of pre-signed URLs to access each attachment. IT administrators with appropriate permissions will then be able to download the file containing links to all of their user’s attachments returned as part of this “ Request attachments” action.

When using IAM policies to manage access to the Amazon Chime Administration console and the Request attachments action, use the Amazon Chime FullAccess managed policy or update the custom policy(s) to include:

• The StartDataExport action to grant IT administrators access to the Request attachments action on the Account summary page.
• The RetrieveDataExport action to grant IT administrators access to download the file containing links to all user attachments returned as part of the Request attachments action.

Learn more about requesting attachments and the related IAM policies here Requesting attachments uploaded by users in your Amazon Chime Enterprise account

Users who are not part of an Amazon Chime Account

Users that are not managed as part of an Amazon Chime Team or Enterprise account can now request attachments that they have uploaded into 1:1 and group chat conversations or that have been uploaded into chat rooms that they have created using the Amazon Chime Assistant.

Learn more about using the Amazon Chime Assistant to get attachments Using the Amazon Chime Assistant to get attachments or request that your account be deleted

Deleting Amazon Chime data

Users who are not managed under an Amazon Chime Team or Enterprise account can now request to delete their account and data using the Amazon Chime Assistant Delete me command. IT administrators can use the Amazon Chime console to delete user data.

Learn more about using the Amazon Chime Assistant to request to be deleted Using the Amazon Chime Assistant to get attachments or request that your account be deleted

Amazon Chime is now available as an iOS share option

iPhones and iPads with the Amazon Chime client installed will now be able to add Amazon Chime as an application to post text, photos and links from other iOS applications directly into chat conversations or chat rooms without launching the Amazon Chime app.

The steps below provide an example using sharing within the Photos app.

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select a photo.
   
3. Choose Amazon Chime from the applications list - if you don't see Amazon Chime on your list, add it by choosing More and enable the Amazon Chime application.
4. Enter an optional message to be included.
   
5. Choose Select a chat.
6. Use the Messages and Rooms list and and choose a target chat or chat room.
   
7. Select Post to complete the share.
8. The object and text are shared in the Amazon Chime chat or chat room.

Provide feedback when you join a meeting from an in-room video conference system

For months we have been collecting feedback from attendees who use Amazon Chime clients to join meetings. Now, attendees who join from in-room video systems can let us know when they have a bad experience. When you experience issues, go to the dial-pad of the unit and enter *9. Thank you for providing data that we can use to improve your experience.

Bugs and Enhancements

• The meeting window will no longer auto-maximize when a meeting attendee shares their screen. (Windows, macOS)
• Added the ability for users to refresh the Amazon Chime application and data on their device. (iOS)
• Fixed an issue where users were presented with blank conversations and rooms when the application is launched for the first time and there is no network connectivity. (iOS)
• Fixed an issue where the client could crash when a device switched from portrait to landscape while viewing. (iOS)
• Fixed an issue where users connected via a proxy were not getting reconnected when switching networks. (Windows)
• Fixed an issue where attendees who chose to leave a meeting while they were screen sharing could not restart screen share when they subsequently rejoined the meeting. (Windows)
• Fixed an issue where the client would crash when long messages were entered into 1:1 chat or chat rooms with @mentions. (Android)
• Ensured that users who set their display size to Large are able to view all messages in chat rooms. (Android)
• Fixed an issue where users were receiving @all, @present and @mention messages when the chat room had notifications set to muted. (Android)
• Ensured that the chat message thread view scrolls properly to display the new message(s) received. (Android)
• Fixed an issue where a chat room or group message name is blank on the left navigation. (macOS)
• Ensured that the video tiles can be resized while another attendee is sharing their screen. (macOS)
• Expanded the unread badge icon to show upto 4 digits (9999+). (macOS)
• Ensured that the unread count displayed is decremented when a chat room is deleted. (macOS)
• Fixed an issue where a change in the font size is not applied to new text in the text entry field when it is increased or decreased while typing. (macOS)