Over time your Messages list will fill up with hundreds of old threads — onboarding chats, spam numbers, one-off pricing questions, finished appointment conversations. Archiving is how you get them out of your main inbox without losing them.
Archiving a conversation does three things:
Removes it from the All and Unread tabs. The thread no longer shows up in your default view.
Moves it to the Archived tab. You can still find it there any time.
Preserves the full thread. No messages are deleted. Everything is still there — the archive is just a filter, not a trash bin.
Archiving is non-destructive and completely reversible. Do it liberally.
There are two ways:
Each row in the Messages list has an Archive button on the right. Tap it and the thread moves straight to the Archived tab without you even having to open it. This is the fastest way to batch-clean a cluttered inbox.
Open the conversation and tap the 3-dot overflow menu at the top-right. One of the options is Archive Conversation. This is the right option when you've just finished reading the thread and want to file it away in one gesture.
Tap the Archived tab at the top of the Messages page. Every thread you've ever archived lives here, sorted by most recent message at the top. The list view looks identical to the All tab — same rows, same fields, same search bar — just scoped to archived threads only.
Search (by name or phone) works inside the Archived tab, too, so you can pull up an old conversation by searching even if you don't remember when it happened.
If an archived client texts you again, Teddy automatically moves their thread out of the Archived tab and back into the All tab, with a fresh unread badge. You don't have to manually un-archive anything — a new message on an archived thread brings it back on its own.
You can also manually unarchive a thread: open it from the Archived tab and tap the 3-dot menu. The "Archive" option becomes "Unarchive," and tapping it sends the thread back to All.
A rough rule of thumb for when to archive:
Archive immediately: spam numbers, wrong numbers, one-off pricing inquiries that you've answered, finished onboarding chats
Archive at end of week: resolved appointment conversations, completed booking flows, any thread that's been inactive for 7+ days
Don't archive: active client conversations, anything with an open question you haven't answered, anything waiting on a client reply
The goal is for your All tab to show only threads that are currently live — conversations you'd actually want to see first thing in the morning.
If a thread has unread messages and you archive it, the unread count stays on the thread — but the thread is in the Archived tab, so you won't see it in Unread anymore. The sidebar's Messages unread badge also drops.
This is usually what you want (you're acknowledging you read the gist of the conversation and deciding it doesn't need a reply), but keep it in mind: archiving doesn't automatically mark messages as read.
Tip: Set aside 5 minutes every Friday to power through your inbox and archive anything older than a week that doesn't need a reply. A tidy Messages list makes Monday mornings way less stressful.
