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Let the user hide messages that have been removed - #7566

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hayaksi1 wants to merge 4 commits into
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hayaksi1:fix/4417-hide-redacted-messages
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Let the user hide messages that have been removed#7566
hayaksi1 wants to merge 4 commits into
element-hq:developfrom
hayaksi1:fix/4417-hide-redacted-messages

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@hayaksi1

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Content

Every removed message leaves a "Message removed" placeholder behind, and a room that has been moderated heavily ends up with more placeholders than messages. A new switch in Advanced settings, on by default, drops those items from the timeline instead.

The preference sits next to the other per-session timeline rendering options and is read the same way as the read receipt one, so the timeline rebuilds as soon as it is changed rather than on the next launch.

The pinned message list is unaffected: it asks for removed messages explicitly, so a pinned event that was later removed still explains why it is no longer there.

Motivation and context

Relates to #4417.

Tests

  • TimelineItemsFactoryTest — with the preference off, a removed event is left out of the timeline and the message next to it is kept.
  • The existing :features:messages:impl, :features:preferences:impl and :libraries:preferences:impl suites pass unchanged.

These do not cover what happens to a day separator whose only event was removed; the separator is still produced, as it is today for any hidden item.

Tested devices

  • Physical
  • Emulator
  • OS version(s): API 36

Checklist

  • I am aware of the etiquette.
  • This PR was made with the help of AI:
    • Yes. In this case, please request a review by Copilot.
    • No.
  • Changes have been tested on an Android device or Android emulator with API 24
  • UI change has been tested on both light and dark themes
  • Accessibility has been taken into account. See https://github.com/element-hq/element-x-android/blob/develop/CONTRIBUTING.md#accessibility
  • Pull request is based on the develop branch
  • Pull request title will be used in the release note, it clearly defines what will change for the user
  • Pull request includes screenshots or videos if containing UI changes
  • You've made a self review of your PR

Every removed message leaves a "Message removed" placeholder behind, and
a moderated room ends up with more placeholders than messages. A new
switch in Advanced settings, on by default, drops those items from the
timeline instead.

The preference sits next to the other per-session timeline rendering
options and is read the same way as the read receipt one, so the timeline
rebuilds as soon as it is changed. The pinned message list is unaffected:
it asks for removed messages explicitly, so a pinned event that was
removed still explains why it is no longer there.

Part of element-hq#4417
@hayaksi1
hayaksi1 requested a review from a team as a code owner August 25, 2026 18:15
@hayaksi1
hayaksi1 requested review from bmarty and removed request for a team August 25, 2026 18:15
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Thank you for your contribution! Here are a few things to check in the PR to ensure it's reviewed as quickly as possible:

  • If your pull request adds a feature or modifies the UI, this should have an equivalent pull request in the Element X iOS repo unless it only affects an Android-only behaviour or is behind a disabled feature flag, since we need parity in both clients to consider a feature done. It will also need to be approved by our product and design teams before being merged, so it's usually a good idea to discuss the changes in a Github issue first and then start working on them once the approach has been validated.
  • Your branch should be based on origin/develop, at least when it was created.
  • The title of the PR will be used for release notes, so it needs to describe the change visible to the user.
  • The test pass locally running ./gradlew test.
  • The code quality check suite pass locally running ./gradlew runQualityChecks.
  • If you modified anything related to the UI, including previews, you'll have to run the Record screenshots GH action in your forked repo: that will generate compatible new screenshots. However, given Github Actions limitations, it will prevent the CI from running temporarily, until you upload a new commit after that one. To do so, just pull the latest changes and push an empty commit.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the Z-Community-PR Issue is solved by a community member's PR label Aug 25, 2026
# Conflicts:
#	features/messages/impl/src/test/kotlin/io/element/android/features/messages/impl/timeline/factories/TimelineItemsFactoryTest.kt
@bmarty bmarty added the X-Needs-Product Issue needs input from Product team label Sep 1, 2026
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2 participants