Gchat History

Google Chat, known as "Gchat" in short, is Google's instant messaging server. You can access the service both from within your browser and from a separate IM program called Google Talk. Unless you choose not to save chats or select the "go off the record" option for specific people you talk to, your chat history will be saved in your Gmail account.

Locating Your Chat History

Log in to your Google account and navigate to your Gmail inbox. Click "Chats" in the list on the left of the window to bring up a list of all your saved chats. If the list is empty, you have no saved chats, perhaps because you chat with only one person and have chosen to go off the record with him or because you've chosen not to save chat history.

Searching Your Chat History

Using the search box at the top of the Gmail window to search through old mail will also bring up results from your chat history. To search only your chat history, click the small "Show search options" link next to the search box, select "Chats" from the drop-down menu labeled "Search" and click the "Search Mail" button. You can also simply type "in:chats" in the search box, before or after your search terms.

Specific Chat History

To view the history of all conversations you have had with a specific person, log in to your Google account using the Google Talk client, open a chat window with the person and click the button that looks like a triangle pointing downward in the upper right corner of the chat window. From the menu that appears, select the "View past chats" option. This opens a new window or tab in your browser that displays the history of your chats with that specific person.

Alternately, use the search box at the top of your Gmail window. Type "in:chats from:[e-mail]", replacing "[e-mail]" with the email address of the specific person you have in mind. You can also use search terms to further refine the search. For example, search for "in:chats from:[e-mail] raise" if you want to find all mentions of "raise" in chats with one of your coworkers.

Going Off the Record

If you want your conversations with a specific person not to be saved in your chat history, you can choose to go off the record with him. If you're chatting from within your browser, click the "Actions" button on the chat window and select "Go off the record;" if you're using the Google Talk client, click the button that looks like a triangle pointing downward on the chat window and select "Go off the record." This option is permanent and persists through multiple chat sessions: Once you've chosen to go off the record with somebody, any chats you have with him won't be saved in your chat history unless you reverse this setting by selecting the "Stop chatting off the record" option from the same drop-down menu.

Choosing Not to Save Chats

From within your Gmail account, click the cog icon in the upper right corner of the window and select the "Mail Settings" option. Click the "Chat" tab, select "Never save chat history" and click the "Save Changes" button. From the Google Talk client, click "Settings" on the program's main window, click the "Chat" tab, select the "Don't save chat history in my Gmail account" option and click "OK."

Deleting Specific Chat History

Once saved within your Gmail account, chat histories act exactly like an email message. Select the conversations you want to delete from the list of chat histories and click the "Delete" button. You can also click the "Delete" button while reading a single conversation.

References

• Google Talk: Chat History Saving