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Google generalizes ‘Messages for web’ sign-in to ‘Device Pairing’

Save for Fi integration, the Messages for web experience hasn’t seen too many updates in recent years. The latest Google Messages for Android makes an odd tweak that renames the web client set-up process to “Device Pairing.”

In Messages 8.1, which is currently in beta, heading to the overflow menu reveals that “Messages for web” has been renamed to “Device Pairing.” Besides that page being similarly re-titled, there are no changes to the actual process of visiting messages.google.com/web on your computer and then scanning a QR code.

Google’s support documentation has yet to swap in the new “Device Pairing” terminology, while this change was interestingly already used in version 7.9 of Messages for Samsung phones. For end users, the new name is somewhat less obvious than what preceded it. 

That said, the term is more generalized in a way that could possibly signify wider availability for the Messages application. First-party tablet and wearable messaging support, which Samsung has its own system for, is one possible route Google could be getting ready to take. 

More about Google Messages:

Thanks Bruce

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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