One of Google’s most useful tools inside the inbox is getting supersized for power texters. The newest builds of Google Messages have added support for up to 20 pinned conversations, in fact — twice the number permitted before and well more than enough to enable any sane user to keep his or her priority threads within instant reach.
What’s changing in Google Messages pin limit update
Pinning in Google Messages means that you can keep selected threads pinned to the top of your inbox for easy access, no matter how much new activity arrives further down. That list had a ceiling of 10 — until now. Such users will first need to have experienced the new update through a beta version, noticing that their limit had jumped from 17 to 20 and back to 17 as we have been observing until recently when debunk… uh, presumably continued growth of certain features led WhatsApp to decouple them further down the line.
The cap has inched higher over the years. The feature was introduced with up to three pinned chats, which became five and then rose to 10 and now stands at 20.
It’s a small venue with a towering impact for the folks juggling multiple work groups, family threads, travel itineraries and two-factor prompts in one inbox.
Why increasing the pinned chat limit in Messages matters
Messaging continues to soar in volume as RCS adoption spreads. Google has said that the RCS in Messages is now serving a large global audience, and with richer group chats, higher-resolution media, read receipts and typing indicators, more of your threads require attention. A greater pin limit allows users to triage that flow more easily without resorting to third-party tools.
It also places Google Messages in a more competitive position. Apple’s version of Messages allows you to pin up to nine conversations, Apple Support says. The WhatsApp Help Center says that pins for chats are limited to three, while restrictions on new pinned chats in Telegram apply “5 pins on an ordinary account.” 20 hits, and Messages becomes a power-user tool for personal use as well as their work.
How to use pinned conversations in Messages
Pinning is easy: press & hold a thread in your main list and use the push pin icon in the top bar. The conversation jumps to the top and remains there. Do the same to unpin when it’s no longer necessary.
Some other practical applications of the expanded limit include:
- Crucial group chats
- Ongoing support tickets
- Shipping updates
- Travel itineraries
- Time-sensitive project threads
If you get close to the full 20, do a weekly sweep through unpinning conversations that have been resolved so that real priorities continue to remain in view.
Rollout and availability for the updated pin limit
The raised cap is also showing up for users with the latest Google Messages builds on both the beta and stable channels. Like so many Google app features, availability could be tied to a server-side rollout and specific client version. The update comes via the Play Store, but it doesn’t appear immediately when you force-close and re-open the app; some accounts will have access before others.
Independent Android tinkerers, including researchers who track feature flags, spotted the change as it was being tested before it began to land with regular users. No official comment from Google on the new limits, however, which is pretty much a standard affair for incremental QoL changes.
The bigger picture for Google Messages power users
Over the past two years, Google has been meticulously honing Messages with incremental high-grit feature updates: end-to-end encryption for group conversations, emoji reaction support with cross-platform fallback, voice message transcription and improved media management. Raising the pin cap is of a piece, a small thing on paper — but meaningfully useful for people who practically live in their messaging inbox.
The upshot for anyone who uses Messages to manage life between work and home is simple: You can now pin twice as many conversations to the top of the deck. Just keep in mind that pinning is a priority, not a parking lot — like any finite supply of space or time, all 20 are useful only to the extent that everything pinned there belongs there.