Earlier this year, Google Messages introduced Profile discovery — which has since been renamed to “Profile sharing” — and is now rolling out a prominent way to “Customize how you are seen.”
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The day has arrived, as Verizon has officially shut down its Message+ app on Android in favor of Google Messages, but users aren’t happy about the change, especially as the old app has blocked access to messages entirely.
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Verizon Message+ is set to stop working in a few days (after a month-long delay), and Google is out with a brief guide for those switching to its Messages app.
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After abandoning the previous design a few months ago, Google Messages is back with another redesign of the text field.
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RCS has been a long journey, but with Apple finally adopting the standard in its latest iOS update, messaging is genuinely improving for users. In a new campaign, Samsung and Google tout support for RCS on Galaxy devices and Android following Samsung’s full embrace of Google Messages.
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For the most part, message backup on Android today is handled on the system-level by Google (One). Google Messages is now readying an in-app “Backup & restore” experience.
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In addition to adding “Your profile” settings, Google Messages is now explicitly reminding you what name and profile you’re “Sending as.”
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Google Messages is more widely rolling out the simple ability to “Double tap to heart” on Android.
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Last month Verizon announced it would kill its “Message+” app for Android phones sold on its network, transitioning users over to Google Messages. But, now, Verizon has extended the timeline a bit.
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After adding Magic Rewrite to the grid of shortcuts, Google Messages is testing giving Magic Compose a more prominent position and button that is always visible.
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Following the last redesign in early 2023, Google Messages is testing a new look for read receipts in RCS conversations.
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With the latest beta version of Google Messages, some users are seeing the old text field accidentally return.
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The latest round of new features for Google Messages is focused on safety, like “Sensitive Content Warnings” for images that contain nudity. Existing measures protect Android users from 2 billion suspicious messages per month.
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A small change to Google Messages for Android moves the “Rewrite” aspect of Magic Compose.
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In a rather unsurprising move, Verizon Messages (Message+) is shutting down in November and Android users are encouraged to use Google Messages instead.
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In addition to a dedicated FAB, another way Google Messages is encouraging Gemini usage is through a welcome message.
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With RCS rolling out on the iPhone yesterday, Google is looking ahead on new features including cross-platform end-to-end encryption (E2EE) between Android and iPhone.
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Apple today is rolling out iOS 18 with support for RCS in a huge boost to the iPhone-Android messaging experience.
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The saga of the Gemini button in Google Messages continues with the FAB shrinking to its original size.
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In recent weeks, users on older Samsung Galaxy phones have been prompted to switch to Google Messages, which has resulted in the app moving up the Play Store’s top chart.
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At the end of May, Google Messages officially announced the ability to edit RCS messages, and editing is now finally seeing wider availability.
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There are a handful of ways that Google Messages on Android signals you’re having an RCS conversation, and the app is now testing a small change to the primary indicator.
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After Samsung signaled its move away from its own Messages app over to Google Messages, the company is pushing more Galaxy users to Google’s app.
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A nice quality of life improvement to Google Messages for Android adds group chat search to the New conversation page.
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