The latest addition to Google Chat lets you see when other users delete their messages within a Chat space.
Google has added a new chat timestamp feature to its Google Chat messaging service that will allow users to know when someone deletes a message from the thread.
The update will allow users to see when other people in the Chat space delete a message they previously wrote, along with all the thread replies associated with the deleted comment. Deleting selected messages can only be applied to the user’s own comments and will not delete the main content the sub-threads were initially related to.
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As the announcement on Google’s Workspace Blog specifies, from now on, “when a user deletes a message in an unthreaded Google Chat Space, a message and timestamp will appear in the conversation” to notify all users involved about the deletion. It is also important to note that “when a message has been deleted, both the content and the replies to it are deleted altogether.”
In the event that the deleted message is a reply comment, the thread below the reply will go away, but the main content the user initially responded to will stay.
Selecting a message gives users the ability to edit their own messages (in addition to deleting them). However, this option is currently available only on a Work or School Chat account – not personal accounts. In addition, users cannot edit messages that others have sent.
Google’s new Chat timestamp feature is currently rolling out to users and should be available globally within the next few weeks. All Google Workspace, G Suite Basic, and G Suite Business customers will receive the update by default.
Google Chat is one of the very few Google messaging services surviving the disproportionate competition from popular chat platforms like Meta-owned WhatsApp and Messenger or Apple’s iMessage.
It offers a range of useful features that the public has received well, such as rich text formatting, the ability to customize one’s status, automatically suggested chats based on users’ upcoming calendar events, and the ability to make one-to-one Meet calls directly from Gmail.