diff --git a/xwords4/android/app/src/main/res/layout/chat.xml b/xwords4/android/app/src/main/res/layout/chat.xml
index b0ac5d6eb..0a9b0a5d1 100644
--- a/xwords4/android/app/src/main/res/layout/chat.xml
+++ b/xwords4/android/app/src/main/res/layout/chat.xml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
               android:layout_weight="1"
               android:scrollHorizontally="false"
               android:hint="@string/chat_hint"
+              android:maxLength="255"
               />
     <Button android:id="@+id/chat_send"
             android:layout_width="wrap_content"