The person’s name is then highlighted in blue in your text to indicate you’ve directed your comment to them. The app will pop up a contact suggestion, which you can then click to select. But unlike the mention format on some apps and social platforms, like Twitter, iMessage only requires you type someone’s name - no extra symbol required. To make it easier for other iMessage users to know who a message was meant for in a group chat, iMessage is adding support for Mentions. With inline replies, users can opt to view the replies within the full conversation, or you can opt to view them as their own thread. With the new inline replies feature, iMessage users in a group chat will be able to respond to specific messages using threads - a feature common to a number of other top messaging apps, including Slack. This includes added support for common features like inline replies, pins, and mentions, plus updated customizations for group chats, expanded Memoji, improved search, and more. At its virtual Worldwide Developer Conference keynote this morning, Apple announced the next version of iMessage will support a number of popular features found in rival messaging apps like Slack or even Facebook’s Messenger, among others. Apple’s iMessage platform is getting a notable update with the release of iOS 14 and macOS’s Big Sur.