Google has still not been able to have a successful messaging app as they keep launching, changing, and then killing off various apps over the years. They seem to have settled now on Google Chat, although it’s still too early to say that this is it for them. They have been updating and bringing new features to the app so it looks like they might be sticking with it for now. The latest feature to the messaging app is not something big but can be pretty useful. It will show you when a message is deleted within the app.
The official announcement on the Workspace Blog said that users will now see when someone deletes a message in an unthreaded Google Chat Space conversation. This way, users will be able to understand gaps within chats and maybe understand the context as for the gaps. This should also improve the flow of the messages in the chat. Instead of the message, in its place users will see a “Message deleted by its author” notification and a timestamp.
When you delete a message, all the replies associated with it will also be gone. When a reply is deleted, only the messages associated to it, including replies from other people, will be removed but the original content will remain. Obviously, you will only be able to delete the messages that you sent and you cannot do so for what other people have written there. If you don’t want to delete, there’s also the option to just edit your message or comment.
But if you’ve decided that you really want to delete the message or comment, select it and tap on the Delete button. Note that you’ll only be able to edit or delete if you have a work or school Google chat account. Personal accounts will not be able to edit or delete their comments so whatever you sent there will stay there forever. Or at least until Google keeps Google Chat around. Well, even deleted messages can still be “kept” if someone screenshot it before you were able to delete it.
The notification for deleted messages has started rolling out to all Google Workspace customers, including G Suite Basic and Business customers. It will automatically be there as there’s no admin control for this feature.
