Slack Pin and Bookmark Messages

Pinning and bookmarking are two ways to mark important messages so you can find them again quickly. They serve different purposes: pins highlight messages for the entire channel, while bookmarks are personal — only you see them.

Pinning vs Bookmarking at a Glance

                 PINNING                   BOOKMARKING
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Who sees it?   All channel members         Only you
Where it lives Channel's pins list         Your personal saved items
Purpose        Highlight key info          Personal reference list
               for the whole team
Who can do it  Any channel member          Any member (for yourself)
               (admins may restrict)
Example use    Link to the project brief   A message you need to
               everyone should read        action on later

How to Pin a Message

1. Hover over the message you want to pin.
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) in the hover toolbar.
3. Select "Pin to channel".
4. Slack posts a system notification in the channel confirming the pin.

Pinned messages appear in the channel's Pins section inside the details panel (click the ⓘ icon, then select Pins). Every member of the channel can see all pinned messages.

What to Pin

GOOD THINGS TO PIN IN A CHANNEL

  # general         → Company mission statement, code of conduct
  # dev-team        → GitHub repo link, deployment checklist
  # marketing       → Brand guidelines, campaign calendar link
  # project-alpha   → Project brief, key dates, decision log
  # help-it         → How to submit a ticket, known issues

Pins work best for reference material that new channel members need to read or that everyone in the channel refers back to regularly. Avoid pinning every important message — too many pins make the list as hard to search as the channel itself.

How Many Items Can Be Pinned

There is no strict limit on the number of pins in a channel, but best practice is to keep pins under 10 items. When pins pile up, consider moving the information to a Slack Canvas (a persistent document attached to the channel) and pinning the canvas instead.

Removing a Pin

1. Open the details panel (ⓘ icon) and click Pins.
2. Hover over the pinned item.
3. Click the pin icon that appears to unpin it.

Alternatively, hover over the original message in the channel, open the three-dot menu, and choose "Remove pin".

How to Bookmark a Message (Save for Yourself)

1. Hover over any message.
2. Click the bookmark icon (🔖) in the hover toolbar.
3. The bookmark icon turns filled/colored, confirming the save.

On mobile, long-press a message and tap "Save message".

Finding Your Bookmarked Messages

Click "Saved items" in the left sidebar (it may appear under your name or in the Activity section). Every message you bookmarked appears here in chronological order, with the channel name and timestamp. Click any saved message to jump directly to it in its original context.

SAVED ITEMS VIEW

  🔖 SAVED ITEMS

  # finance-team | Oct 12, 2:30 PM
  Bob: "Final invoice for Acme is attached."
  [Jump to message]

  # dev-team | Oct 10, 11:00 AM
  Carol: "Use this API key for staging: ..."
  [Jump to message]

  # general | Oct 8, 9:15 AM
  Admin: "New password policy effective Nov 1."
  [Jump to message]

Removing a Bookmark

Click the filled bookmark icon on any saved message to unsave it. The icon returns to its empty state. The message itself is not deleted — only your personal bookmark is removed. Other people's bookmarks are unaffected.

Using Bookmarks as a Task List

Many users bookmark messages they need to act on — a question to answer, a task to complete, or a link to read later. After handling the item, they unsave it. This turns the Saved Items feed into a lightweight personal task list without needing any extra tools.

BOOKMARK AS TASK LIST

  SAVE message → "need to action this"
  ↓
  Complete the task
  ↓
  UNSAVE the message → "done, removed from my list"

Channel Bookmarks Bar (Different Feature)

Some Slack workspaces display a bookmarks bar at the top of each channel — similar to a browser's bookmark bar. This is managed by channel managers and admins. It holds links to frequently used resources like project management tools, documents, or dashboards. Click any link in the bookmarks bar to open it directly.

Key Takeaways

• Pinning a message makes it visible to all channel members in the Pins section of the details panel.
• Bookmarking a message saves it to your personal Saved Items — only you see it.
• Pin reference material (briefs, links, policies) that the whole channel needs regularly.
• Bookmark messages you need to act on personally and unsave them when done.
• Keep channel pins under 10 items for maximum usefulness.