Hangout Chat机器人消息接收异常求助：编辑删信未推送、仅被提及才收信

Alright, let's tackle these two Hangout Chat bot issues one by one — I've run into similar quirks with Google's workspace bots before, so here's what I've learned and the workarounds that actually work:

First off, you're not missing anything in the docs — Hangout Chat does not natively support push notifications for message edits or deletions right now. This is a platform limitation that's been around for a while, and there's no official way to get real-time triggers for these actions.

That said, here's a reliable workaround:

• Implement a polling mechanism using the Hangout Chat API. You'll need to regularly fetch the message history for the spaces your bot cares about (using the spaces.messages.list endpoint) and compare it against a local cache of messages you've already processed.
  • For edited messages: Check if a message's updateTime field is newer than what you have stored, or if the text/cards content has changed.
  • For deleted messages: Look for entries in your cache that no longer appear in the latest API response.
• Keep an eye on API quotas — Google limits how many requests you can make, so adjust your polling interval (e.g., 1-5 minutes) based on how critical real-time updates are for your use case. For high-priority spaces, you can shorten the interval, but avoid hitting rate limits.

This is intentional behavior for group spaces in Hangout Chat — bots are designed to only trigger on @mentions to avoid spamming unnecessary events. But if you need your bot to monitor all messages in a space, here are a few options:

1. Switch to 1:1 chats
   If your use case allows, have users interact with the bot directly in a private conversation. In one-on-one chats, bots receive every message sent, no mentions required.

2. Poll the space message history
   Similar to the first issue's workaround, use the spaces.messages.list API endpoint to periodically fetch all messages in the space. This lets you process every message, even if the bot isn't mentioned. Again, just be mindful of API quotas here.

3. Use Google Apps Script (for Workspace users)
   If you're on a Google Workspace plan, you can build a script using the ChatService that runs on a time-driven trigger. The script can pull the latest messages from the target space, process them, and take action as needed. This is a low-code way to bypass the mention requirement for internal bots.

4. Leverage webhooks for forwarding
   If your team uses other tools alongside Hangout Chat, you can set up a separate integration (like a Zapier or Make workflow) that forwards all space messages to a webhook your bot listens to. This adds an extra layer, but it works if you need real-time access without polling.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Manoj