No. A saved message or to-do stays in progress until you complete or clear it, even after you answered. A Mention Reminder item closes on a reply in the thread, an emoji reaction, or on the Team plan an answer the AI matches in the channel.
Mention ReminderComparison
Slack Later and To-dos vs Mention Reminder
Later was Slack’s home for saved messages and reminders. To-dos is replacing it from October 2026. Both depend on you choosing what to add. Mention Reminder adds mentions automatically and tracks them until you reply or react.
⚖️ The short answer
Use To-dos for personal tasks and messages you want to save. Add Mention Reminder when mentions are easy to overlook and manually saving and clearing them is not working.
Free · no card · no extra app
What it is
What Slack Later and To-dos do
In 2023 Later replaced saved items and the old reminders list: you saved a message or file, optionally with a reminder, and it sat under In progress until you moved it to Archived or Completed.
Starting in October 2026, and rolling out gradually, the To-dos tab is replacing Later in the sidebar. Saved items that had a reminder became to-dos, the ones without moved to a Saved section on Home, and you can also add to-dos of your own that are not messages at all. Saving does not set a reminder by default; when you add one, the notification arrives in Activity when it is due.
Completing, clearing and moving items is up to you, one by one or with a clean-up action for overdue items. It is part of Slack on every plan, for members and guests.
Side by side
Compare the features
| Feature | Mention Reminder | Slack Later / To-dos |
|---|---|---|
| Reminders created automatically from @mentions | YesNo need to save messages. Applies to people an admin enables; obvious thanks and similar non-actionable mentions are skipped. | NoNothing lands there unless you save it or add it. |
| Recognises a reply to the mention | YesYour thread reply or reaction clears it. On Team, AI can also match your reply posted separately in the channel. | NoA saved message stays in progress after you reply to it. |
| Clears the reminder after a reply or reaction | YesThe item leaves your list after your reply or reaction. Deleting the source message also clears the reminder. | NoYou mark it complete or clear it yourself. |
| Reminds the person who was mentioned | YesThe person mentioned in the message. | NoYour own list. Nobody can put an item on it for the person they mentioned. |
| Private, nothing extra posted in the channel | YesThe list and reminders are private. The bot adds a 🔔 reaction to the source message. | YesPrivate to you. |
| Personal reminder hours and timezone | YesOne daily reminder time on Starter; several chosen hours on Team. Weekdays only is optional. | PartlyAn optional due date per item. No standing hours, and saving sets none by default. |
| Team setup without each person configuring reminders | YesAn admin installs the bot and chooses people. Everyone uses their existing chat account. | YesBuilt into Slack, nothing to install. |
| Reminders about anything, not only mentions | NoMentions only. For your own notes, keep the built-in reminders. | YesAny message or file, and custom to-dos that are not messages. |
| Tasks with assignees, due dates and boards | NoTracks replies, without tasks, deadlines or boards. | PartlyPersonal to-dos with due dates and a completed state, but no assignees or boards. |
| Price | Starter is free for up to 5 people. Team starts at $2.50 per person per month, billed annually. | Included in every Slack plan. |
When it is enough
When Later or To-dos is enough
- You see your mentions as they come in and save the ones you need to come back to.
- You want one personal list for messages and your own to-dos together.
- You are happy to tidy the list yourself once things are done.
When to add Mention Reminder
When to add Mention Reminder
- Mentions arrive while you are in meetings and are buried before you get the chance to save them.
- Your saved list is full of things you already answered and never cleared.
- You want reminders at the hours you choose every day, not one due date per item.
- You want the same for everyone on the team without asking each person to build the habit.
🤝 Using both
Using both
They answer different questions: To-dos is what you decided to do, Mention Reminder is who is still waiting on you. Keep saving the messages you want to come back to. The mentions you would have forgotten to save show up in your App Home tab on their own and disappear when you reply or react, without touching your To-dos.
No. Later and To-dos are personal, and each person fills their own. With Mention Reminder the @mention is enough: the covered colleague gets a private reminder without anybody saving anything.
According to Slack, items with a reminder became to-dos, items without one and archived items moved to the Saved section of Home, and completed items stayed in To-dos. The rollout started in October 2026 and is gradual, so your workspace may still show Later.
No. It keeps its own inbox in the App Home tab and sends reminders by DM at your chosen hours. Your saved items and to-dos stay exactly as you left them.
More comparisons
- Slack /remindReminders you set in Slack compared with reminders created automatically from mentions.
- Slack ActivityMention notifications compared with a list of messages still waiting for your reply.
- Slackbot AIAn AI assistant for questions and summaries compared with an automatic mention reminder list.
- Best Slack mention reminder appsSlack features and apps that help you return to mentions, compared.
Sources
Information last checked on October 14, 2026.
- Slack Help Center: Later is now To-dos
- Slack Help Center: Slack updates and changes
- Slack developer changelog: Later replaces stars and reminders (2023)
Other products change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it. Contact
Stop letting things vanish in the scroll
Add Mention Reminder to Slack, Teams or Discord - two minutes, once. After that it runs in the background and nobody on the team has to do anything else. Starter is free, no card.
Free · no card · no extra app