Google Messages is finally rolling out its snooze function for chats – here’s how it works

• Google Messages is finally rolling out its long-awaited snooze feature for chats, Android Police has spotted
• The feature will allow you to snooze chats for one hour, eight hours, or 24 hours, and there’s also an ‘Always’ option
• You’ll also be able to set it so that you receive alerts when someone mentions you in a chat, though its Mentions feature has yet to be rolled out

It seems as though Google Messages’ long-awaited snooze feature is finally being rolled out, catching up to the likes of other messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp. The feature has been spotted in the latest Google Messages beta for both SMS and RCS messages, two months after the company started working on it.

According to Android Police, one of the first outlets to spot the feature, the new ‘Snooze chat’ feature appears when you open a contact’s page in the Google Messages app, which allows you to silence chats for one hour, eight hours, 24 hours, or ‘Always’. Android Police also added that it will be rolling out to selected users, so not everyone will be able to access it right away.

In addition to the four snoozing options, Android Police also spotted a setting that allows you to receive notifications if you’re mentioned (@) even if a chat has been snoozed. Recently Google has been toying with the idea of introducing a mentions feature for chats, and while this isn’t available yet, Android Authority believes it could be rolled out simultaneously with the snooze feature.

There are two ways to enable the ‘Snooze chat’ function. The first is by going to a contact’s page and enabling the feature there as mentioned above. Alternatively, you can long-press on a chat in your Google Messages inbox and a snooze icon will appear in the toolbar as Android Police has tested.