Block/Unblock User

Enable users to block and unblock others directly within chat using CometChat’s Android UI Kit v5+, preventing unwanted communication and giving users more control.

Overview

Blocking a user stops them from sending messages to the blocker. The CometChat UIKit handles most behaviors internally:

Composer Hidden: The message composer is hidden when chatting with a blocked user.
Unblock Prompt: An “Unblock” button is displayed to reverse the block.
Message Restrictions: Blocked users cannot send messages to the blocker.

Prerequisites

Android Studio project with CometChat Android UI Kit v5 added to build.gradle.
CometChat App ID, Auth Key, and Region configured and initialized.
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/> in AndroidManifest.xml.
Logged-in user via CometChat.login().
Existing one-on-one chat screen using CometChatMessageList and CometChatMessageComposer.

Components

Component / Class	Role
`UserDetailActivity.java`	Displays user profile and provides block/unblock options.
`MessagesActivity.java`	Hosts the chat screen and toggles UI based on block state.
`CometChatUIKit.blockUsers()`	API to block one or more users by UID.
`CometChatUIKit.unblockUsers()`	API to unblock one or more users by UID.
`User.isBlockedByMe()`	Checks if the current user has blocked this user.
`unblockLayout` (View)	Layout shown when a user is blocked, containing unblock.
`CometChatMessageComposer`	Hidden when chatting with a blocked user.

Integration Steps

1. Detect Block Status

Update UI when block state changes.

// In MessagesActivity.java
private void updateUserBlockStatus(User user) {
    boolean blocked = user.isBlockedByMe();
    binding.messageComposer.setVisibility(blocked ? View.GONE : View.VISIBLE);
    binding.unblockLayout.setVisibility(blocked ? View.VISIBLE : View.GONE);
}

File reference:
MessagesActivity.java Ensures the composer and unblock UI reflect the current block state.

2. Hide Composer & Show Unblock UI

Define layout elements and their visibility toggles.

<!-- In activity_messages.xml -->
<com.cometchat.ui_kits.CometChatMessageComposer
    android:id="@+id/messageComposer"
    ... />
<View
    android:id="@+id/unblockLayout"
    android:visibility="gone"
    ...>
    <Button
        android:id="@+id/unblockBtn"
        android:text="Unblock"
        ... />
</View>

File reference:
activity_messages.xml Prepares the UI containers for dynamic show/hide operations.

3. Trigger Unblock Action

Call the unblock API and observe status updates.

// In MessagesActivity.java
binding.unblockBtn.setOnClickListener(v -> viewModel.unblockUser());

// In MessagesViewModel.java
public void unblockUser() {
    CometChatUIKit.unblockUsers(Collections.singletonList(currentUser.getUid()), new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<String>>() {
        @Override
        public void onSuccess(List<String> uids) {
            unblockButtonState.postValue(false);
        }
        @Override
        public void onError(CometChatException e) {
            // Handle error
        }
    });
}

File references:

Executes unblock logic and updates LiveData to refresh UI.

4. Trigger Block from Detail Screen

Allow blocking directly from a user’s profile.

// In UserDetailActivity.java
binding.blockMenuItem.setOnClickListener(v -> {
    CometChatUIKit.blockUsers(Collections.singletonList(user.getUid()), new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<String>>() {
        @Override
        public void onSuccess(List<String> uids) {
            viewModel.refreshUser();
        }
        @Override
        public void onError(CometChatException e) {
            // Handle error
        }
    });
});

File reference:
UserDetailActivity.java Integrates block action into the profile menu, triggering the UI toggle via LiveData.

Implementation Flow

Step	Action	Location
1	Check block status	`updateUserBlockStatus()` in `MessagesActivity.java` fileciteturn9file0
2	Show/hide composer and unblock layout	`activity_messages.xml` fileciteturn9file0
3	Unblock API call and LiveData update	`MessagesViewModel.unblockUser()`
4	Block API call from profile	`UserDetailActivity.blockMenuItem`

Customization Options

Feedback UI: Show a Toast or Snackbar upon success/failure.
Menu Icons/Text: Toggle icon and text dynamically after block/unblock.
Disable History: Optionally gray out or hide past messages when blocked.

Filtering & Edge Cases

Case	Behavior
Blocked User	Composer hidden; unblock layout shown.
Block Self	SDK ignores request; ensure menu is disabled.
Group Chat	Blocking affects only 1:1 communication.
Network Failure	Observe error callbacks and retry as needed.

Error Handling

Handle errors from blockUsers and unblockUsers callbacks by showing alerts or retry prompts.
Ensure UI LiveData states revert on failure.

Group vs. User-Level Differences

Scenario	UI Behavior
`ReceiverType.USER`	Block/unblock enabled.
`ReceiverType.GROUP`	Block option ignored; chat continues.

Summary / Feature Matrix

Feature	Component / Method
Check block state	`User.isBlockedByMe()`
Block user	`CometChatUIKit.blockUsers()`
Unblock user	`CometChatUIKit.unblockUsers()`
Update UI	`updateUserBlockStatus()`
Profile block menu	`UserDetailActivity.blockMenuItem`

Overview

Prerequisites

Components

Integration Steps

1. Detect Block Status

2. Hide Composer & Show Unblock UI

3. Trigger Unblock Action

4. Trigger Block from Detail Screen

Implementation Flow

Customization Options

Filtering & Edge Cases

Error Handling

Group vs. User-Level Differences

Summary / Feature Matrix

Next Steps & Further Reading

Android Sample App (Java)

Android Sample App (Kotlin)

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Components

​Integration Steps

​1. Detect Block Status

​2. Hide Composer & Show Unblock UI

​3. Trigger Unblock Action

​4. Trigger Block from Detail Screen

​Implementation Flow

​Customization Options

​Filtering & Edge Cases

​Error Handling

​Group vs. User-Level Differences

​Summary / Feature Matrix

​Next Steps & Further Reading

Android Sample App (Java)

Android Sample App (Kotlin)

Overview

Prerequisites

Components

Integration Steps

1. Detect Block Status

2. Hide Composer & Show Unblock UI

3. Trigger Unblock Action

4. Trigger Block from Detail Screen

Implementation Flow

Customization Options

Filtering & Edge Cases

Error Handling

Group vs. User-Level Differences

Summary / Feature Matrix

Next Steps & Further Reading