You can now star your messages on Google Messages

In May, we got word that Google might add two much-needed features to the Google Messages app - an option to pin conversations and another to star specific messages. The latter is now officially rolling out to the stable version of the app, while the former is still only available for beta users.

Most of us have been in a situation where we have to find some information buried deeply in the conversation history. Some apps like Facebook’s Messenger have a search bar appear if you scroll up a few times, which occasionally comes in handy. However, often we can’t think of the correct keyword to find what we need, so this method does not always deliver good results.

The arguably better approach is to let the user save messages in some way. Google adding this feature has greatly improved the user experience of their messaging app, and the way to do it is simple.

To star a message, you just need to long-press on it and tap on the star icon at the top right of the screen. To find your starred messages quickly, a new “Starred” category has been added to the search bar of the app. Once selected, it will filter out all other messages and show you only the ones you’ve saved.

Pinning conversations

In their APK teardown, XDA Developers also discovered that Google Messages will have a feature to pin conversations. For those who regularly chat with a large number of contacts, this will without a doubt be a welcomed quality of life addition.

The feature is yet to be officially announced by Google, but it is reportedly being rolled out to the latest beta version of the app. If you join the beta program you might have the chance to give it a try.