Google Messages is one of the primary chat apps that Android users rely on, but despite its prominence, and backing from arguably one of the biggest tech companies in the world, the app does sometimes feel ‘light,’ and a work in progress.
For reference, it wasn’t until December of last year that the app gained message scheduling, a feature you would have thought the app already had.
Now, the app is finally gaining two new features that most of the other popular messaging apps already have.
We’ve seen reports about Google Messages gaining group chat mentions and a dedicated Trash folder for a while now, and Google chose to officially drop both earlier today, as pointed out by the folks over at 9to5Google.
The ‘mention‘ feature should allow you to grab someone’s attention in a busy group chat, while the dedicated Trash folder finally offers a safety net in case you delete an important conversation.
Mentions
Google Messages is gaining this long-overdue group chat feature
RCS group chat mentions at long last
When you mention someone using ‘@,’ followed by their name, the user will get a notification alerting them. The notification will go through even if the user has muted the group chat.
You can also @ mention multiple people at once to grab broader attention.
Mentions for group chats are rolling out now and should be widely available wherever RCS Google Messages chats are available over the coming days!
Trash
If you delete a Google Messages conversation, it will now move to a dedicated Trash folder where it will stay recoverable for 30 days. After 30 days, said conversation/message will be permanently deleted.
If you choose to recover a conversation, it will be moved back to your main inbox with the full history intact. Alternatively, if you know you won’t be recovering deleted conversations, you can manually clear the Trash folder before the 30-day period.
To access Google Messages’ Trash folder, open the app and tap your profile picture or initial, and then tap on Trash.
The new Trash folder is rolling out now and should be available over the coming days!
