Mark a Message Unread in Slack and Teams to Come Back Later

Use Mark unread as a cue to return to a message, not as a promise to reply. Both Slack and Teams document message-level actions. Teams also has a chat-list action, mobile channel-message actions and a Followed threads route. Choose the route that matches the item and app you are using.

Miles Crawford

5 min read

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The quick version

In Slack, hover over any message, click the three dots icon and choose Mark unread. On mobile, tap and hold the message, then tap Mark unread. Slack describes this as the way to come back to messages later.

In Teams, go to the top of a message and select More options, then Mark as unread. You can also use More options, then Mark as unread from a chat in the chat list. For channel messages on mobile, press and hold the message to find the unread action; the Followed threads view also has an unread action for posts or messages.

Slack: mark one message unread

The steps from Slack's help: hover over a message, click the three dots, then Mark unread. On mobile, tap and hold the message and tap Mark unread. There is also a desktop shortcut: hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and click the message.

Once a conversation has unread messages, its name goes bold in your sidebar, and it appears in your Unreads view on desktop (click Unreads at the top of the sidebar) or Catch up on mobile. In Catch up, swiping right marks a message as read and swiping left marks it as unread so you can come back to it later, which is a fast way to triage a morning backlog.

Slack: keep messages unread automatically

By default, Slack marks messages as read soon after you open a channel or DM. If you often open a busy channel and want everything you have not seen yet to stay unread, change the preference: click your profile picture in the sidebar, select Preferences, then Mark as read, and under "When I view a channel" pick "Start at the newest message but leave the unseen messages unread."

The other two options are "Start where you left off and mark the conversation as read" and "Start at the newest message and mark the conversation as read." Choose by the label rather than its position in the menu. Leaving unseen messages unread may suit you if opening a channel is not the same as finishing it.

Teams: mark a message or chat unread

Microsoft's Send and read messages page documents a message-level route: go to the top of the message, select More options, then Mark as unread. Its chat-organization page documents a separate route from the chat list: point at the chat, select More options, then Mark as unread.

Do not treat the chat-list route as evidence that message-level actions are unavailable. They are different entry points. If you cannot find the action where you expected it, check the message menu and your app's current layout rather than assuming that only the whole chat can be marked.

Teams channels: use the documented channel routes

On the Teams mobile app, Microsoft says to press and hold a channel message to see actions including Mark as unread and Save. In Followed threads, open More options for a post or message and choose the unread action. That view also lets you filter to unread threads and return to the original channel conversation.

These are the specific routes the linked help pages describe. They do not establish that every channel layout exposes the same menu in the same place. If you want a separate reading list, Save is another option, not a required workaround for all channel posts.

Teams: save a chat message or channel post for reference

For a channel post you want to revisit, hover over it, select More options and choose Save this message. Once you have saved anything, a Saved section appears at the top of your list of chats and channels, and selecting a saved message opens the original conversation in a side pane with full context. To clear one, hover and choose Unsave this message.

Two behaviors from Microsoft's documentation worth knowing: if the author edits the post after you save it, your saved copy reflects the edits, and if the post is deleted, the entry stays in Saved marked with a note that the author deleted it. So treat Saved as a reading list, not an archive.

Choose by the follow-up you need

These are suggested choices, not platform rules. An unread marker is a cue in your reading workflow. A saved item is a reference you want to find separately. Neither is a timed commitment to another person.

Situation	Try	Check before moving on
A message needs a reply later	Mark unread	You can find the conversation again
A channel post is useful reference	Save the message	It appears in Saved; it is not an archive
Someone needs an answer by 3pm	Record a timed follow-up	The time and owner are written down

For time-specific work, see the reminders guide. For a longer reading list, see saved messages. The read receipts guide covers a separate question: what the sender can see.

What to be careful about

Do not substitute a marker for a reply. If someone is waiting on your answer, send a short acknowledgment or state when you can respond. That is our workflow advice, not an effect of Mark unread.
Opening Slack can clear unread status. Its default preference marks messages read soon after you open a channel or DM. Check the Mark as read preference if you want unseen messages to remain unread.
Teams has more than one entry point. The chat-list action does not rule out the message, mobile channel or Followed threads actions documented elsewhere.
Saved Teams messages mirror the original. Edits flow through and deletions leave a placeholder. Saved is not a backup.

Sources

Checked October 28, 2026. The steps and limits follow the linked official help pages, not a test in a signed-in workspace. Menu location can vary by app and layout. The situation-by-situation advice and example table are ours.