During interactive webinars, team standups, and virtual lectures hosted on Google Meet, the in-call text chat can easily become overwhelmed with dozens of real-time comments, questions, and reactions. When hosts or presenters share critical resources—such as shared document links, agenda notes, voting forms, or access codes—those essential messages quickly scroll off the screen as other participants reply.
To ensure important information remains prominently visible to everyone, Google Meet includes a built-in message pinning feature. Pinning an in-call message anchors it to the very top of the chat panel, allowing attendees to view and interact with key resources at any stage of the video call without having to scroll through extensive message histories. This guide explains how to pin and unpin chat messages in Google Meet across desktop browsers and mobile devices.
Who Can Pin Chat Messages in Google Meet?
Google Meet manages chat permissions based on the meeting type and host control configurations:
- Meeting Hosts and Co-Hosts: Can pin and unpin any message sent in the chat, regardless of who originally submitted it.
- Regular Participants: In standard Google Workspace meetings where host management is not strictly locked down, participants can typically pin their own messages or unpin items for their own local view. However, if Host Management is enabled with restricted chat permissions, only designated hosts and co-hosts can pin global announcements.
- Multiple Pinned Items: You can pin multiple messages simultaneously. When more than one message is pinned, Google Meet displays the most recently pinned item at the top, along with a counter indicating additional pinned notes that users can expand.
| Feature Capability | Desktop Web (Chrome, Edge, Safari) | Mobile App (iOS & Android) |
|---|---|---|
| Pin Message | Hover over message > Pin icon | Long-press message > Tap Pin |
| Unpin Message | Hover pinned banner / message > Unpin icon | Tap pinned banner > Select Unpin |
| Clickable Hyperlinks | Fully clickable in pinned banner | Fully clickable in pinned header |
| Host Management Control | Full configuration via Host controls | Full configuration via Host controls |
How to Pin a Chat Message in Google Meet on Desktop
Pinning messages on a laptop or desktop computer requires just two clicks within the meeting interface:
- Join your video conference in Google Meet using your preferred web browser.
- In the bottom-right corner of the meeting window, click the Chat with everyone icon (represented by a speech bubble).
- Locate the message you wish to keep visible. You can pin messages sent by yourself or other attendees.
- Hover your mouse pointer over the message bubble. A small row of action icons appears to the right of the message.
- Click the Pin icon (the pushpin symbol).
The message immediately docks at the top of the chat panel inside a dedicated pinned card. A small pin icon appears next to the author’s name, and the text remains anchored regardless of how many new messages appear below it.
How to Unpin a Message in Google Meet
Once a shared link is no longer needed or an agenda item has concluded, you can unpin the message to clear screen space for subsequent topics:
- Open the Chat with everyone panel if it is currently closed.
- Locate the pinned message banner at the very top of the chat pane.
- Hover over the pinned message card.
- Click the Unpin icon (the crossed-out pushpin symbol).
- Alternatively, scroll to the original message in the chat stream, hover over it, and click the Unpin icon.
The pinned card disappears from the top banner, returning the message to its chronological position in the standard chat timeline.
Pinning Messages on the Google Meet Mobile App
If you are presenting or co-hosting a meeting from an iPhone, iPad, or Android device, you can manage pinned messages via touch gestures:
- In an active Google Meet video call, tap the screen to bring up the control overlay.
- Tap the More options button (three dots) in the bottom-right corner and select In-call messages.
- Scroll to the message you want to spotlight.
- Tap and hold (long-press) the message text bubble until a contextual sheet slides up from the bottom of the display.
- Tap Pin message.
A pinned announcement bar appears at the top of the mobile in-call message screen. To unpin on mobile, tap the pinned header bar, select the message, and choose Unpin message.
Best Practices for Using Pinned Messages in Meetings
To maximise the effectiveness of pinned messages during collaborative calls, implement these structured habits:
- Share Clean Direct Links: If you are pinning a link to a Google Doc, Google Sheet, or presentation slide deck, ensure sharing permissions (e.g. Anyone with the link can view/comment) are pre-configured so attendees can open the resource immediately upon clicking.
- Keep Pinned Announcements Brief: Lengthy multi-paragraph messages consume significant vertical space in the chat panel. Pin concise instructions or bulleted agendas so attendees can still view incoming chat flow.
- Unpin Outdated Agendas Promptly: Leaving outdated slide links or concluded poll announcements pinned can confuse late joiners. Designate a co-host to unpin items as the meeting progresses through different agenda items.
- Remember Late Joiner Visibility: Pinned messages remain anchored for current call participants. However, if late attendees join after a message was posted, remember to re-share critical links so new arrivals can access them in their newly initiated chat session.
Utilising the pin chat feature in Google Meet keeps vital documents and conference instructions visible to all participants, preventing repetitive queries and keeping your meetings structured and productive.