Google Messages

Google Messages will soon be able to delete one-time passwords automatically

Ben Schoon | Sep 28 2020 - 7:49 am PT

To increase our security online, many websites, apps, and services have adopted one-time passwords and verification codes to add a second layer of protection. Soon, Google Messages may be able to identify one-time passwords and automatically delete them.

As uncovered by the folks over at XDA, version 7.6 of Google Messages contains a few strings which explicitly discuss a new feature. While not enabled just yet, Google Messages is clearly working on the ability for the app to recognize one-time passwords and delete them after 24 hours.

When this feature arrives, it will apparently prompt users asking if they’d like the functionality enabled or not.

If the functionality is enabled, messages that appear to be one-time passwords will presumably see a pop-up notification of some sort which shows that the message is “categorized as a one-time password” by Google Messages.

<string name=”otp_auto_deletion_promo_banner_body_text”>Auto-delete OTPs after 24hrs</string>
<string name=”otp_auto_deletion_promo_banner_negative_button_text”>No thanks</string>
<string name=”otp_auto_deletion_promo_banner_positive_button_text”>Continues</string>
<string name=”otp_content_description”>This message is categorized as a one-time password</string>

For users that get a lot of OTPs, this could come in handy! Those messages tend to clutter message history and, really, they become useless after being used, so there’s no reason to keep them around more than a day. Right now, though, it’s unclear when this automatic function will be added to Messages.