Google Messages now gives you a second chance to recover deleted chats

What you need to know

• Google Messages now adds a trash folder, letting you recover deleted chats instead of removing them instantly.
• Deleted conversations stay in the trash for 30 days, with options to restore or permanently delete anytime.
• New messages from deleted chats appear as fresh threads and don't restore the original conversation.

If you've ever accidentally deleted a conversation in Google Messages, the app is now giving you a second chance to recover it.

After testing it in beta, Google Messages is now rolling out the trash folder for all users. Previously, when you deleted chats in the app, they were removed immediately. But now, instead of being deleted right away, the chat will move to a trash folder before being permanently deleted.

When you delete a thread, it stays in the trash folder for 30 days, after which it is automatically deleted. Of course, you can go in and delete the thread permanently anytime if you want. Similarly, you can also restore conversations from here within that one-month window.

Now, when you tap the delete icon after selecting a chat, Google Messages will show a prompt that the chat is being moved to trash. To access it, you can tap the profile icon on the top right, where it appears under the 'More from this app' section below the Archived option.

You will be able to access trashed chats, restore them, or delete them permanently using the options available in the trash folder.

It's worth noting that if you receive a message from a trashed conversation, it will show up as a new thread in the main inbox and will not restore the original chat from the trash folder.

The feature is now rolling out to Android phones. I was able to access it on version 20260403_00_RC00 of the app on my Oppo Find X9 Pro. If you're not seeing it yet, you may need to update the app from the Google Play Store.

It's good to see Google adding more features to Messages, especially with Samsung planning to phase out its own Messages app on Galaxy devices later this year. This comes after Google also started testing the mentions feature in the app.

Android Central's Take

This is one of those small features that should've been here a long time ago. I've lost count of how many times I've deleted a chat by mistake. Having a trash folder just makes Google Messages feel more complete now.