Mentions in Google Messages for RCS Group Chats

If you’ve ever posted something important in a busy Google Messages group chat and watched it get instantly buried under new texts, reactions, or GIFs, you know how easy it is for your message to disappear. The usual result? You end up sending the same message again because the one person who needed to see it never did.

Google Messages has now rolled out Mentions after months of beta testing, aiming to fix that exact problem in RCS-enabled group chats.

How @ Mentions work in Google Messages

Mentions let you tag someone in a group conversation using the “@” symbol. When you mention a person, they receive a notification—and that notification comes through even if they’ve muted the chat.

That changes the rhythm of group chats in a practical way. Instead of hoping the right person scrolls back and catches your message, you can direct it to them clearly and make it harder to miss.

Mention multiple people in one message

Mentions aren’t limited to one person at a time. You can tag multiple people in a single message, which is useful when you’re trying to coordinate plans, confirm details, or ask for input from more than one participant without spamming separate messages.

Edit a recipient’s saved name from the text field

Alongside Mentions, Google Messages also allows you to edit the saved name of the recipient in real time directly from the text field. It’s a small quality-of-life change, but it’s built for the moment you’re actually typing—right where you need it.

The New Trash Folder in Google Messages

Group chats aren’t the only place where things go wrong. Sometimes the real damage happens with one rushed tap—when a conversation gets deleted and you instantly realize you didn’t mean to do that.

Google Messages now includes a Trash folder, designed to reduce the impact of accidental deletions by changing how deletion works.

“Move to Trash” replaces immediate delete

Instead of deleting conversations immediately, Google Messages now uses a “Move to Trash” approach. It’s the difference between something being gone forever and something being recoverable when you catch the mistake fast enough.

Undo deleted messages quickly

The Trash experience includes a quick Undo option, letting you restore messages you deleted by mistake. This is specifically aimed at that “panicked tap” moment—where you know immediately something went wrong and want a fast way back.

How long conversations stay in Trash

Conversations placed in Trash aren’t kept indefinitely:

  • Trash holds conversations for 30 days before they’re permanently deleted.
  • On Android Go devices, conversations remain in Trash for seven days to save storage space.

Where to find the Trash folder and how to restore threads

The Trash folder sits under Archive in the top-right profile menu. From there, it offers one-tap restore, returning conversation threads to your inbox with full history intact.

And if you actually want something gone, there’s also a permanent delete option.

Availability notes for Mentions and Trash

Even though these features have been announced, it appears they may not be available to a wider audience yet. If you don’t see them in your app, it may simply mean they haven’t reached your device or account.