New Google Messages Feature Might Save Deleted Texts and Chats

Have you ever accidentally deleted a text message, or even worse, an entire conversation, and wished you could retrieve it from the trash? Apparently, Google Messages could be getting exactly that, as we see signs of a trash folder that'll store messages or chats for a set amount of time.

Throughout 2025, Google has been extremely busy adding new features and safety measures to Messages, and it doesn't look like they're slowing down anytime soon. We've seen everything from sensitive content warnings for images and videos arrive, to a revamped gallery picking interface, fixing group chat icons, and much more. Now, Google is reportedly working on some smaller quality-of-life upgrades.

First spotted by Android Authority, Google Messages could get a trash folder in an upcoming update, in addition to the archive feature. The outlet found several bits of new code that specifically mention a trash can, trash folder, or "trashed conversations."

This suggests that Google is preparing a trash bin that'll arrive in a future update.

It's worth mentioning that Google Messages is pretty feature-packed and already has an extremely helpful text archive option.

You can set the app to archive messages by default instead of deleting them. That way, even if you accidentally delete a message, you can jump back into your archived chats and restore it. However, these take up space, and the archive never gets deleted.

The way things work now is you can delete a message, and it's gone for good, or archive it, which will hide it but stay on your device permanently. Apparently, Google wants a middle ground between the two.

 While we're not sure how the new trash folder will work in Google Messages, it'll probably function similarly to the Trash in Gmail, where everything you delete is stored for 30 days before being automatically deleted. Google could also make it customizable with a set time limit, but we'll have to wait and see.

It's important to remember that just because we see signs of a feature in an app teardown doesn't automatically mean it'll become a new feature. Google could decide to scrap this idea entirely. That said, it sounds super helpful and will make the Archive feature truly an archive while allowing users to delete everything else without worrying that it'll be gone forever. While waiting for this to arrive, check out these 9 Google Messages features everyone should know.

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