Pinning a chat is a feature available in many messaging apps and social media platforms that allows you to give certain conversations priority by “pinning” them to the top of your chat list. When you pin a chat, it will always appear at the top of your messages, making it easily accessible instead of getting buried as new messages come in.
Why Would You Want to Pin a Chat?
There are a few main reasons you may want to pin a chat:
- To keep important conversations handy – Pinning lets you keep ongoing conversations with close friends, family members, coworkers, etc at the top of your messages so you can always find them easily.
- To prioritize certain people – You can pin chats with your boss, spouse, kids, or others who you frequently need to communicate with.
- To bookmark conversations – If you have a chat with information you want to reference later, like travel plans or a shopping list, pinning keeps it accessible.
- To follow up on messages – Pinning a chat where someone has asked you a question or requested something from you reminds you that you need to follow up.
- To avoid “buried” chats – Long group chats or active conversations can push other messages far down your list over time. Pinning prevents important chats from getting buried.
Pinning a chat makes it behave somewhat like an ongoing notification – reminding you of something important or somewhere you need to follow up. It brings conversations that matter most to the forefront.
How to Pin Chats in Different Apps
The ability to pin chats is available in many popular messaging platforms, but the exact steps to pin a chat may differ between apps.
Pinning Chats in WhatsApp
To pin a chat in WhatsApp:
- Open the WhatsApp chat you want to pin
- Tap and hold the chat (iPhone) or tap the contact name (Android)
- Select “Pin chat” (iPhone) or tap the pin icon (Android)
Pinned chats will now appear at the top of your WhatsApp chats with a small pin icon next to them.
Pinning Chats in Messenger
To pin a conversation in Messenger:
- Open the Messenger chat you want to pin
- Tap on the contact’s name at the top of the chat window
- Select “Pin to Top”
The pinned chat will now show up at the top of your message list.
Pinning Chats in Telegram
To pin a chat in Telegram:
- Open the Telegram chat you want to pin
- Tap and hold the chat
- Select “Pin Chat”
The pinned chat will now appear at the top of your Telegram chats.
Pinning Chats in Slack
To pin a conversation in Slack:
- Open the Slack channel or DM chat you want to pin
- Click on the “More” icon next to the chat name
- Select “Pin to channel/Pin to DM”
The chat will now be pinned to the top of that Slack channel or DM list.
How Many Chats Can You Pin?
Most messaging platforms let you pin multiple chats, but there is often a limit to how many you can pin at once:
- WhatsApp – You can pin up to 3 specific chats.
- Messenger – You can pin up to 9 chats.
- Telegram – You can pin up to 5 chats.
- Slack – You can pin up to 9 items per channel, and an unlimited number in DMs.
So you can choose to pin a few of your most important conversations in each app. In Slack, you have more flexibility to pin conversations, files, or other content to channels.
Can You Pin Group Chats?
Yes, most messaging apps allow you to pin group conversations:
- WhatsApp – Pin group chats to keep ongoing group conversations handy.
- Messenger – Pin your family, friends, or coworker group chats.
- Telegram – Pin Telegram groups and channels.
- Slack – Pin public channels, private channels, or DMs (group direct messages).
Pinning group chats can be useful to prioritize ongoing team conversations in Slack, stay up-to-date in a busy Telegram group, or follow along in an important WhatsApp family chat.
Can Other People See Your Pinned Chats?
Whether others can see your pinned chats depends on the app:
- WhatsApp – No, your pinned chats are only visible to you.
- Messenger – No, pinned chats are only visible to you.
- Telegram – Yes, any users in a group chat can see if you’ve pinned it.
- Slack – Yes, anyone in a workspace can see pinned items in public channels.
So pinning chats in WhatsApp and Messenger is private to you. But in Telegram and Slack, pinning also serves as a way to highlight important chats for the group or team.
Do Pinned Chats Expire?
Typically, pinned chats will remain pinned indefinitely until you manually unpin them. However, there are some exceptions:
- WhatsApp – Pinned chats don’t expire.
- Messenger – Pinned chats don’t expire.
- Telegram – If a group chat is upgraded to a supergroup, pinned chats unpin.
- Slack – Slack automatically unpins items after a set time period (default is one week).
So you may need to re-pin chats occasionally in some apps. But in WhatsApp and Messenger, once pinned the chat will stay pinned until manually unpinned.
Can You Pin Chats on iPhone and Android?
Yes, the ability to pin chats is available both on iPhones and Android phones for the major messaging apps:
- WhatsApp – Pin chats on both iPhone and Android.
- Messenger – Pin chats on both iOS and Android.
- Telegram – Pin chats on both platforms.
- Slack – Pin chats and items on both mobile and desktop.
The overall feature works the same way – it’s just accessed a little differently on iPhone (via holding down on chats) versus Android (via tapping menu icons). But pinning is fully cross-platform.
Can You Pin Chats on Desktop Apps?
In addition to mobile apps, you can also pin chats and conversations on the desktop apps for major messaging platforms:
- WhatsApp Web/Desktop – Pin chats here the same as mobile WhatsApp.
- Messenger on Desktop – Pin chats via the desktop app.
- Telegram Web – Pin chats on web.telegram.org.
- Slack Desktop App – Pin items in channels or DMs.
Pinning on desktop can be especially handy for platforms like Slack where you may communicate more actively on a computer. Pin key conversations, projects, or resources within your team’s reach.
Can You Unpin Chats?
Yes, if you no longer want a conversation pinned to the top of your chats, you can easily unpin it:
- WhatsApp – Tap and hold, then unpin.
- Messenger – Tap the contact name, then unpin.
- Telegram – Tap and hold, then unpin.
- Slack – Click the “More” icon and unpin.
The chat will then return to its normal chronological placement based on latest activity. You can re-pin it again anytime.
Pros of Pinning Chats
Pinning chats has some great advantages:
- Keeps important conversations easily accessible
- Lets you flag chats to follow up on later
- Prevents losing track of key messages
- Prioritizes the people and groups you talk to most
- Finds busy group chats instantly amid many conversations
- Highlights relevant info for teams in Slack channels
Overall, it’s a simple organizational tool that helps you communicate more efficiently in the apps you use every day.
Cons of Pinning Chats
There are a couple potential downsides to pinning chats:
- You may pin too many chats and defeat the purpose of prioritizing
- Important new messages from unpinned chats can be missed
- It only works if you remember to use pinning consistently
- Constantly changing pinned chats can be time consuming
- automation, I think it is useful to provide your own conclusion to summarize the key points made in the article. Here is an example conclusion:
Conclusion
Pinning chats is a simple but effective way to organize your conversations and keep your most important connections literally at your fingertips. By pinning select chats in messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, and Slack, you can always have fast access to the people and groups you interact with most.
Pinning makes it easy to stay on top of ongoing conversations, follow up on important messages, and keep relevant information handy for your teammates. While pinning too many chats can lose its value, using this tool judiciously lets you communicate more efficiently.
So if you haven’t already, give chat pinning a try. See how it helps you stay connected to your inner circle, priority contacts, and key work channels on the fly.