Get started with Google Chat

4. Manage chats

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Chat

You can hide chats that you no longer want to see, and you can delete your chat history. You can also set up notifications to receive alerts when new chats appear.
 

In this section:

4.1 Hide chats
4.2 Set up notifications
4.3 Snooze notifications
4.4 Turn notifications on or off
4.5 Manage chat history

4.1 Hide chats

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Hide a direct message:

  • On the left, next to the person's name or group, click More and then Hide conversation.
  • Select the person or group, and then at the top, click Down arrow and then Hide conversation.
Note: If you hide a chat and then chat with that person or group again, your chat history reappears (if it's turned on).

Select more to get the hide message option

4.2 Set up notifications

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You can choose whether to receive notifications for conversations, or just for @mentions and direct messages. And, if you haven’t read a conversation in 12 hours, you can get an email notification sent to you.

Note: Notifications won't show in the navigation bar.

For messages

  1. Open Chat.
  2. At the top right, click Settings Settings and then Settings.
  3. Under Web, desktop, and Gmail, click the Down arrow and select what you want notifications for:
    • All Messages—Get a notification for all direct messages and all messages in rooms.
    • New threads, threads I’m following and direct messages—Get a notification for all direct messages, the first message of every new thread, and all threads you’re following.
    • Threads I’m following and direct messages—Get a notification for all direct messages and threads you’re following.
    • Only @mentions and direct messages—Get a notification for direct messages and @mentions in Rooms.
    • Off—Turn off all notifications.
  4. (Optional) To hear a sound, check Play sounds for incoming push notifications and popups.
  5. (Optional) If you use Chat in Gmail, check Show push notifications for Chat messages in Gmail.
  6. Under Mobile, click the Down arrow and select what you want notifications for.

For email notifications

If you haven't read a conversation in 12 hours, you can get notified by email.

Email notifications are not sent for @all mentions.

  1. Open Chat.
  2. At the top right, click Settings Settings and then Settings.
  3. Under Email, click the Down arrow and select what you want an email notification for:
    • Only @mentions and direct messages—Get a notification for @mentions in rooms and direct messages.
    • Off—Get no notifications.

For a specific room or conversation

  1. Open Chat.
  2. Select the name of the person or room.
  3. At the top, next to the name of the person or room, click the Down arrow .
  4. Click Turn off notifications or Turn on notifications.

For a specific thread in a room

When you follow a thread, the number of new messages appears next to the person or room. You automatically follow threads you start, reply to, or are @mentioned in.

  1. Open Chat.
  2. Select the room.
  3. Point to the thread, and in the top right, click Follow.
    To stop following the thread, click Following.
  4. (Optional) To get notifications for threads you're following:
    1. Click Settings Settings and then Settings.
    2. Select the Web and desktop options for threads.

Find the notification settings

4.3 Snooze notifications

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If you want to work uninterrupted you can temporarily hide notifications.

  1. Open Chat.
  2. At the top left, click your status.
  3. Select a time period to snooze notifications.
    Notifications automatically turn back on after the snooze period expires.
  4. (Optional) To stop snoozing, click your status and then Stop snoozing notifications.

Snooze menu highlighted

4.4 Turn notifications on or off

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In Chat, you can turn notifications on or off for individual direct messages or rooms. If you turn off notifications for a direct message or a room, you’ll still be notified for @mentions.

Turn notifications on or off for direct messages:

  1. On the left, point to the person’s name and click More .
  2. Click Turn on notifications or Turn off notifications.

Turn notifications on or off for rooms:

  1. On the left, point to the room and click More .
  2. Click Turn on notifications or Turn off notifications.

To follow different threads in a room, point to the thread and click Follow. To unfollow different threads in a room, point to the thread and click Following.

Set notifications for rooms or threads you follow

4.5 Manage chat history

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You can turn your chat history on and off for conversations with another person or a group. If you turn it off, new conversations are deleted after 24 hours. Currently, you can’t turn the conversation history on or off for a room.

Note: Your G Suite admin might have to turn this feature on in the Admin console before you can use it.

Choose an option:

  • To turn history on, click Turn on History on.
  • To turn history off, click Turn off History off .

Turn conversation history on or off

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