Google Chat is the recommended messaging app for the university. Within Google Chat, there is functionality for direct messaging (1:1), group messaging (2 or more people), and chat spaces. Spaces are typically used for ongoing, long-term chats. For example, you can create a space for chats with your team or for a committee or project group.

Based on feedback from Fall 2020, for Google Chat history, all message history will be automatically deleted, on a continual basis, after 180 days. 

If you want to save any/all of your message history, no matter the type, you should copy/paste what you want into a document for future reference. Unfortunately, there is no method to export the history and put it into a Google Doc. Cut/paste into a document is your only option. Please be aware that for Chat history, Google will collapse older messages. You may see a number in a circle such as 99+. To copy all the history, you would need to open the collapsed history, then cut/paste. 

Additional Notes

• Group messages and chat spaces history are searchable within Chat for the last 180 days; they are not available for search in Gmail 
• Chat history for 1:1 (or direct) messages are available for search in Gmail

For additional information on how to use Google Chat for direct messages, group messages, or chat spaces, please see this knowledge article.