Guides

How to set a reminder on a Slack message (and catch the ones you didn’t)

Updated October 20, 2026

Short answer: Hover over the message, click the three dots, choose Remind me about this, and pick a time: Slack notifies you when it’s due and keeps it in To-dos until you mark it complete. With a message in focus, M sets a reminder and A saves it without one. Slack only tracks what you mark, so check Unreads and your sent messages at set times for the rest.

Opening a Slack message clears its badge whether or not you answered it. A question you read on your phone between meetings looks handled, and by the evening it’s three screens up a busy channel. Slack keeps track of a message only when you tell it to, so the habit that matters is marking anything you can’t answer right away.

Set a reminder on a message

1. On your computer, hover over the message, click the three dots at its top right, and choose Remind me about this.
2. Pick a time from the list, or Custom for your own.
3. On your phone, tap and hold the message, then tap Remind me.

With a message in focus, pressing M does the same. When the reminder is due, Slack notifies you and puts a badge on To-dos and Activity. A reminder set for a day without a time arrives at 9 a.m. your time, which you can change in Preferences.

To-dos, Saved, and the old Later tab

In October 2026, Slack replaced its Later tab with To-dos. Messages with a reminder live in To-dos, and messages you save without one live in Home → Saved. It’s rolling out gradually, so you may still see Later for a while.

• To save without a reminder, choose Add to saved from the message’s menu (Save for later on your phone), or press A with the message in focus.
• When you’ve replied, mark the to-do complete, so the list only holds what’s still open.
• Move to saved and Move to to-dos switch a message between the two.

Or mark it unread

Mark unread, in the same menu, or Option-click on a Mac (Alt-click on Windows), puts a message back in Unreads. It works if you go through Unreads every day; a reminder is better when the answer is due at a particular time.

/remind, for channels and repeats

The /remind command sets reminders for yourself or for a channel, and they can repeat by the day: “/remind #marketing-team to submit expenses every Thursday”. For one particular message, Remind me about this is the way.

The messages you didn’t mark

Everything above depends on you marking the message when you see it, which is exactly what slips on a busy day. Two kinds go missing most:

• Questions you read but never marked. Go through Unreads and your mentions in Activity at the same two times each day, and mark or answer each one.
• Questions you asked that nobody answered. Slack doesn’t track these at all. Look through Sent, under Drafts & sent, once a day, and follow up in the same thread after a day.

On paid plans, Slack’s AI can summarize the conversations you missed, and on Business+ and Enterprise+ you can ask Slackbot which messages you still need to follow up on. Neither covers your email or the questions you asked.