Overview
By default, Google Chat saves message history indefinitely. Disabling this ensures direct messages and group conversations are automatically deleted after 24 hours, reducing the amount of sensitive communication data retained in your organization.
Prerequisites
Super Admin access to the Google Admin console
Service Settings administrator privilege
Instructions
Sign in to the Google Admin console
Navigate to Apps > Google Workspace > Google Chat
Click History for chats
Under Organizational Units, select the domain or organizational unit you want to apply this setting to
Set history to Off
Click Save
⚠️ This setting applies to direct messages and group messages only — not Spaces. History settings for Spaces are managed separately.
Note: Turning history off only affects new messages. Previously saved messages are not deleted. When history is off, messages are deleted after 24 hours and cannot be held, retained, or searched in Vault. For full details, refer to Google's documentation on turning chat history on or off.