Is there a way to permanently delete messages in both App and Desktop?

[Jasmine S]

I absolutely hate that I can't delete messages!! Hiding them doesn't help because after a month or so all the messages return back and I have to waste hours hiding message I've received since 2007 when I signed up which is literally hundreds of messages which is ridiculous. Also, the app is the most useless app ever that I can't do anything on it. Just send and receive proposals. I can't even edit any settings.

Pls has somebody discovered a way to delete messages on here because support sucks as they either don't respond or they just say they are working on it which they haven't. I'm getting so frustrated and annoyed that every month I have to waste hours deleting messages.  If anyone has something, anything to help me with this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Avery O]

Hi Jasmine, 

I'm sorry learn about your experience. I wanted to check the process in which you were trying to hide your messages. Did you click on the button as shown on my screengrab, and click on the option to hide the message room? 

Also, I wanted to clarify what settings you were trying to edit while you were on the Upwork Mobile App? 

[Steven E. L]

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Avery O wrote:

Hi Jasmine, 

I'm sorry learn about your experience. I wanted to check the process in which you were trying to hide your messages. Did you click on the button as shown on my screengrab, and click on the option to hide the message room? 

Also, I wanted to clarify what settings you were trying to edit while you were on the Upwork Mobile App? 

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 Clarify all you want. Hiding messages doesn't work and never has. Inevitably, they reappear out of the ether at random times.

Simply delete them already!

[Steven E. L]

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Steven E. L wrote:

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Avery O wrote:

Hi Jasmine, 

I'm sorry learn about your experience. I wanted to check the process in which you were trying to hide your messages. Did you click on the button as shown on my screengrab, and click on the option to hide the message room? 

Also, I wanted to clarify what settings you were trying to edit while you were on the Upwork Mobile App? 

---

 Clarify all you want. Hiding messages doesn't work and never has. Inevitably, they reappear out of the ether at random times.

Simply delete them already!

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necro-thread-resurrection-bump ... today, upon receipt of a new message from a new contact, all of the messages I'd so painstakingly hidden over the last seven months magically reappeared once again.

Have no fear!! I will hide them once again ... And again ... And again.

[Avery O]

Hi Steven, 

I'm sorry to learn about the inconvenience this has caused you. I checked your messages room, and only saw messages from this month, the last month, and one from March. Are you referring to the message rooms from June, and March?

[Steven E. L]

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Avery O wrote:

Hi Steven, 

I'm sorry to learn about the inconvenience this has caused you. I checked your messages room, and only saw messages from this month, the last month, and one from March. Are you referring to the message rooms from June, and March?

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Exactly!! Those messages are specifically what I'm referring to. Every single one those was hidden, on purpose, by myself, immediately pursuant to the course of business related therein.

Yesterday, I received a new message from a new contact, which automatically regenerated / repopulated every single message room from this entire year. I don't need to see that crap again. It's already been dealt with.

This isn't new information. It's been an ongoing issue reported by multiple users over multiple years. Fix it already so we can stop fiddling around with repetitive account maintenance and go back to work generating fees for Upwork.

P.S. -- 1 year, 1 month, 19 days ... Fix this too!!

[Avery O]

Thanks for confirming that, Steven!

I'll go ahead and share this with the team for their investigation.

[Virginia F]

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Avery O wrote:

Thanks for confirming that, Steven!

I'll go ahead and share this with the team for their investigation.

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Echoing everyone's comments. Maybe instead of sharing it with the team, share it with someone who will actually do something about it. What is the point of hiding something that won't stay hidden?

At the very, very least, we should be able to delete all the message rooms that open from active candidacies that never went anywhere. Those clients from years ago that we never worked with, only had interviews with. Why in god's name should we have to look at messages from non-existent jobs, year after year after year?

The message rooms are enough of a mess as it is, at least give us the ability to delete non-contract messages.

[Douglas Michael M]

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Virginia F wrote:

At the very, very least, we should be able to delete all the message rooms that open from active candidacies that never went anywhere. Those clients from years ago that we never worked with, only had interviews with. Why in god's name should we have to look at messages from non-existent jobs, year after year after year?

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Exactly the case with my ghost messages.

[Steven E. L]

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Steven E. L wrote:

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Avery O wrote:

... I'm sorry to learn about the inconvenience this has caused you. I checked your messages room, and only saw messages from this month, the last month, and one from March. Are you referring to the message rooms from June, and March?

---

Exactly!! Those messages are specifically what I'm referring to. Every single one those was hidden, on purpose, by myself, immediately pursuant to the course of business related therein.

Yesterday, I received a new message from a new contact, which automatically regenerated / repopulated every single message room from this entire year ...

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Now that I have time to "volunteer" troubleshooting:

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Upwork Help Center wrote:

I had this reviewed by our Engineers and they've advised that hidden rooms can be reopened when:

• A new message arrives;
• A new Story (activity) is posted such as a participant of the message room left/was added;
• User (freelancer) searches and goes/opens Room.

They've cited the following examples:

1. Hidden message room with client [REDACTED] was reopened as because a member of the room left;
2. Hidden message room with client [REDACTED ]was reopened because a new message was sent.

They've suggested to hide the rooms again. They've also added that as a limitation and per system design, it is not possible to hide all rooms, 1 remains open. 

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"Hidden rooms can be reopened when ..."

1. "A new message arrives": Of course; OK fine. No further explanation is necessary.
2. "A new Story (activity) is posted such as a participant of the message room left/was added": BAD DESIGN ... who cares when someone joins or leaves a hidden room. The room was hidden specifically because the end-user is not interested in actions occurring in said room. That's why it was hidden in the first place.
3. "User (freelancer) searches and goes/opens Room": This never occurred. I didn't unhide any of the rooms. Every single one of them was purposefully hidden because I don't want to see them anymore, ever again.

Furthermore, to reiterate:

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Steven E. L wrote:

Yesterday, I received a new message from a new contact, which automatically regenerated / repopulated every single message room from this entire year.

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I understand why the two [REDACTED] rooms mentioned above were reopened. However, upon receipt of those two messages, every other single room with a message sent this year was simultaneously reopened.

Pursuant to the explanation of design intent offered by Upwork Help Center, that is not intended behavior. It is a BUG.

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Upwork Help Center wrote:

They've suggested to hide the rooms again.

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yeah ... that's what we've been dealing with for years. over and over and over ... wasting time repeatedly hiding previously hidden content for no good reason.