Pre-Moderated Messages

Better Messages supports pre-moderation — messages from specific users or roles are held in a queue for moderator review before being delivered. Stronger than user-reporting (which is reactive), pre-moderation is proactive: bad content never reaches the recipient. Useful for sites that need extra control over new users, public chat rooms, or specific role-tiers.

What it adds#

Hold messages for moderator review before delivery
A per-role matrix with separate New Conversations and Replies columns, so the two can have different policies
A First-Time Senders switch that holds anyone's very first message on the site, whatever their role
Email alerts to moderators when messages need review (multiple addresses supported)
One-click approve / reject from Better Messages → Administration
Approved messages are delivered as if newly sent (notifications fire on approval)

How it works#

When a user sends a message and any pre-moderation condition matches them, the message is stored with a "pending" status. Recipients don't see it. Moderators review the queue under Better Messages → Administration.

Condition	Outcome
First-Time Senders is on and this is the sender's first message on the site	Held for review
The sender's role is ticked under New Conversations and this is a new conversation	Held for review
The sender's role is ticked under Replies and this is a reply	Held for review
Nothing matches the sender	Delivered immediately
Moderator approves a held message	Delivered to recipient + notifications fire
Moderator rejects	Message deleted. Sender is not notified by default

The moderator workflow takes seconds: open the email alert, click through to the Messages Viewer, approve or reject. Multiple moderators can share the queue.

When to use pre-moderation#

Site type	Recommended setup
New public community	First-time senders held + admin moderates first message before user can DM freely
Marketplace	Buyer→vendor first messages held — protects vendors from scam attempts
Dating site	All free-tier messages held until user verifies email + profile
LMS with student DMs	First message to instructor held — protects instructor time
Strict communities	All replies from anonymous / guest users held

How to enable#

Navigate to WP Admin → Better Messages → Settings → Moderation.

Messages Viewer — the prerequisite, at the top of the tab. It adds the Administration page where held messages are reviewed, and Enable Pre-Moderation stays disabled until it is on.
Pre-Moderation → Enable Pre-Moderation — turn the system on. The rest of the section only appears once it is.
First-Time Senders — always moderate a user's very first message on the site, whatever their role.
The role matrix — one row per WordPress role, with a New Conversations column and a Replies column. Tick a role in either column to hold that kind of message from it.
Notification Emails → Email Addresses — who gets told when a message is held.

Frequently asked questions#

Does the sender know their message is held?#

Yes — the UI shows a "waiting for moderator review" notice on their pending message. They see it in their thread. The recipient doesn't.

How long does the moderator have to approve?#

No timeout by default — held messages stay pending indefinitely until reviewed.

Can pre-moderation be combined with the bad-words filter and AI moderation?#

Yes. The bad-words filter blocks outright at send time. The AI content moderation (WebSocket version) can flag or hold messages on a per-category / threshold basis. Pre-moderation handles the broader "held for human review" pattern on top of both.

What happens to held messages from a deleted user?#

If the user is deleted before review, the pending messages go with the rest of that user's data when Settings → Messaging → Delete Messages on Account Deletion is on.

Are AI bot messages subject to pre-moderation?#

No — AI bot replies bypass pre-moderation since the bot's output is already controllable via the AI provider's safety settings and the AI content moderation layer.