- You have a 1:1 direct message with someone who uses Google Chat for school or work.
- The person who started the 1:1 direct message belongs to an organization that has a rule to delete messages after a certain time period.
This change applies to previous and newly created 1:1 direct messages.
Learn how to determine retention policies
If you have a work or school account, your organization sets the retention policies for all users in direct messages, group messages, and spaces you create.
After May 1, 2025, if you’re in a conversation started by someone from a different organization (for example, someone messaging from an external work or school account), their admin sets the retention policy which determines how long message history is available for all users in the conversation.
All conversations will show text that indicates who started the conversation. If the person that started the conversation is messaging from an external work or school account, their account’s policy applies to the conversation.
To download old messages, export your data from Google Chat.
If you’re a Google Workspace administrator, learn more about retention policies.