---
title: "Marking a chat message as unread"
description: "Mark a chat message you have already read as unread to remind yourself to follow up. A red dot without a counter reappears on the conversation until you open it again."
category: communication
section: chat-essentials
type: Tutorial
lastUpdated: 2026-08-26
locale: en
canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/communication/mark-a-chat-message-as-unread
---

# Marking a chat message as unread


You can mark a chat message you have already read as unread, so the conversation stays flagged as a reminder to follow up. The conversation shows a red dot without a counter in the sidebar until you open it again. Every member can do this, in rooms and in direct conversations alike, and it changes only your own view: other members' read status is unaffected.

## How do I mark a message as unread?

1. Open **Chat** in the navigation bar and open the conversation.
2. Hover over the message you want to mark as unread. A row of action icons appears beside it.
3. Click the **More** icon (three dots). Its tooltip reads **Other actions**.
4. Select **Mark as unread**, next to the crossed-out eye icon.

> **Note:** The option appears only on messages written by other members. You cannot mark your own messages as unread.

## What happens after you mark a message as unread?

- A horizontal line labelled **unread** appears above the message. The message you marked and every later message sit below the line.
- A red dot without a counter appears on the conversation in the sidebar. This distinguishes it from a conversation with genuinely new messages, which shows a red counter instead (green if you were mentioned).
- The conversation stays flagged while you keep it open. The next time you open it, its messages are marked as read and the dot disappears.

## Good to know

If a new message arrives in a conversation that already contains a message you marked as unread, the red dot stays and no counter appears.

Marking a chat message as unread is separate from the unread mode, which adds an **Unread** view to your newsfeed for posts. To track unread posts rather than chat messages, read [Using the unread mode in Talkspirit](/en/getting-started/the-unread-mode).

## What's Next?

- [Reacting to a chat message](/en/communication/react-to-a-chat-message)
- [Formatting chat messages](/en/communication/formatting-messages)
- [Seeing who read a chat message in a room](/en/communication/see-who-read-a-chat-message-in-a-room)