Collaboration
Collaborate on emails with comments, @mentions, shared drafts, and assignments.
Conversations enable real-time collaboration with your team. Use @mentions to share conversations, discuss in the chat box, and stay updated on activity through watching.
Mentions and sharing
When you @mention someone in a comment, they gain access to the conversation and it appears in their Inbox. Four types of mentions are available:
@user — Mention a specific person
@team — Mention all members of a team
@all — Mention everyone in the organization with access
@group — Mention a custom group of people (e.g., @design-leads, @Stockholm)
If a conversation is private (not yet shared), adding a comment with a @mention automatically shares it with the mentioned teammate or team.
Custom mention groups
Mention groups let you @mention multiple people at once with a custom group name. This is useful for projects, roles, or any group that doesn't map to a formal team structure. They can also be used as a way to differentiate people with the same name when they belong to different mention groups.
For example, you might create groups like:
@design-leads — Senior designers across teams
@project-apollo — Everyone working on a specific project
@Stockholm — People in the Stockholm office
Setting up mention groups
To add someone to a mention group:
Go to Settings > Users
Click on a team member's name to open their profile
In the @mention group field, type the group name
You can add the same person to multiple groups by editing their profile multiple times.
Using mention groups
When typing a comment, type @ followed by your group name. Missive will suggest matching groups. When you select a group, all members are mentioned at once.
Alternative ways to share
Beyond mentions, you can also add people to a conversation through:
Add people menu — Click the avatars at the top of the conversation. You can choose whether to show the conversation in their Inbox or just give them archived access for reference.
Assignment — Assigning someone always shows the conversation in their Inbox and Tasks view.
Individual read/watch statuses
At the top of each conversation, avatars show who has access. Different styling indicates their current state:
Orange clock
User has snoozed the conversation
Blue dot
User has not read all emails in the conversation
Grey avatar
User has archived the conversation
Colored avatar
User has the conversation in their Inbox or Team Inboxes
Blue ring
User is currently viewing the conversation
If you don't see any avatars, the conversation is private. No one can see it but you.
Internal read receipts
Read receipts show who in your team has read messages or comments within a shared conversation. Access the list by opening the More menu (three dots) on any message or comment.
On mobile, open the More menu for comments by double-tapping any comment.
Read receipts are enabled by default. To disable them:
Go to Settings > Preferences > Appearance
Toggle off Show internal read receipts for messages or comments
Watching and unwatching
Watching a conversation ensures you receive notifications for any new activity, even after archiving it.
Watched
The conversation returns to your Inbox for any new message, comment, or task change
Unwatched
Returns to your Inbox only when you are @mentioned, assigned, or receive a direct reply
How to watch or unwatch
Open the conversation
Click the eye icon in the top-right corner
Select Watch or Unwatch
From this menu you can also configure desktop and mobile notifications for the conversation.
You can also press ⌘/Ctrl + K to open the command bar and type "watch" or "unwatch".
Automatic watching
By default, certain actions automatically make you watch a conversation:
Being assigned to the conversation
Posting a comment
Creating a draft (configurable)
Creating a task (configurable)
Starting a new conversation (configurable)
Assignees always watch the conversation. To unwatch, you must first unassign yourself.
To adjust automatic watching preferences:
Go to Settings > Preferences
Search for "watch"
Enable or disable the options you prefer
Watching with rules
Use Rules to automatically watch or unwatch conversations when specific conditions are met, such as when a label is added or a conversation is assigned.
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