Google Messages adds two features your group chats desperately needed

If you’ve ever sent a message into a busy Google Messages group chat and watched it vanish into the void, you’re not alone. That unseen, unacknowledged message often gets buried under texts, reactions, or GIFs from other users, forcing you to resend it. 

Well, Google has finally heard your silent screams. After months of beta testing, Google Messages has officially rolled out what is possibly one of the most useful features for group chats: Mentions. 

How does ‘@’ Mentions work?

As the name suggests, the feature lets you tag someone in an RCS-enabled group chat using the ‘@’ symbol. Once you tag someone in a group, they get a notification, even if they’ve muted the chat. 

No more “sorry, missed that” response from the one person your message was actually meant for. You can mention multiple people in a single message. In addition to this, Google also lets you edit the saved name of the recipient (in real time) directly from the text field. 

Along with Mentions, Google Messages also gets a new Trash folder, which solves the problem of a single panicked tap swiping out an entire conversation. Basically, the new Trash folder replaces the immediate Delete action with the familiar “Move to Trash.”

There’s a new Trash folder as well

It also includes a quick Undo option that lets you restore any messages you deleted by mistake. Conversations in Trash are held for 30 days before being permanently deleted. However, on Android Go devices, the window is set to seven days to save storage space. 

The Trash folder is located under Archive in the top-right profile menu, and offers one-tap restore to bring threads back to your inbox (with full history intact). There’s a permanent delete option as well, in case you’re truly done. 

Despite the announcement, it appears the features aren’t officially available to a wider audience. If you can’t see them, your group chat chaos will have to wait a little longer.