By default, Google Chat saves all your conversations, whether they’re one-on-one or in groups. While this is useful for revisiting past chats, it can bring up privacy issues. For example, new members might see past messages or your organization could be tracking chat histories. Turning off chat history means your messages won’t be permanently stored and will be deleted after 24 hours. It’s important to know how this impacts your chats and file sharing before making changes.
Also, keep in mind that when chat history is off, shared files won’t show up in the chat’s ‘Files’ section, which makes them harder to find later. If you need to keep files easily accessible, consider keeping chat history on while sharing files.
Method 1: Turning off chat history using the Google Chat web app
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Go to chat.google.com on your computer’s browser. Log in if needed, and then go to the chat you want to change the history for.
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In the chat window, click the downward arrow next to the person or group chat name. This opens the chat settings.
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In the menu, click ‘Turn off history’ to disable history for this chat.
After you turn off chat history, you will see a note in the chat saying that history is off. Also, where you type your messages it will show ‘History is off’ instead of ‘History is on’.
Method 2: Turning off chat history using the Google Chat mobile app
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Open the Google Chat app on your phone. You’ll see a list of your chats. Tap the conversation where you want to disable history.
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In the chat, tap the arrow icon next to the person’s name or the chat name at the top.
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In the options menu, you’ll see a toggle next to ‘History is on’. Tap the toggle to disable history.
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After turning off history, the toggle will change from blue to gray, and say ‘History is off’.
Back in the chat, you’ll see a message saying you turned off chat history. Also, the text input area will say ‘History is off’.
If you don’t want to disable chat history completely, you can turn it off for specific chats when you need more privacy, and turn it back on later. Remember, messages sent with history off will be deleted after 24 hours and can’t be recovered.
Turning off chat history in Google Chat helps you keep your conversations more private by automatically deleting them and keeping your messages confidential.