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Like most Google apps, Messages A/B tests many features. However, it takes the RCS/SMS client a rather long time to actually launch these capabilities in stable even after they are announced. From various reports, Google itself, and devices we’ve checked, this is the current state of Messages.
Update 6/21:
These are Messages features that Google announced or have been spotted in the wild by beta users.
The chat interface is now its own container with rounded corners at the top. Google has removed the bubbly backgrounds for solid colors. The ‘plus’ menu is its own container with larger pills that lack any background color.
Old vs. new
The Emoji, GIFs, Stickers, and Photomoji pickers make use of connected button groups, with that row and the search bar flipped. As such, you don’t have back-to-back text fields.
The “Search messages” page has been redesigned with heavy use of containers.
That’s also the case in the “New chat” contacts list.
Google has revamped how images appear in a thread, with photos sent at the same time now grouped together. The fullscreen image viewer has also been redesigned with a blurred background and preview of the last and next image, while you can react from the new bottom row.
Finally, the Settings page also gets Material 3 Expressive.
This safety feature blurs images “that may contain nudity” with the ability to delete them before viewing. It also reminds “users of the risks of sending nude imagery and preventing accidental shares” before they send or forward something that may contain nudity.
Sensitive Content Warnings work on-device (via Android System SafetyCore), with no “classified content or results” sent to Google. Those over 18 can optionally enable it from Messages Settings > Protection & Safety > Manage sensitive content warnings.
Following the last redesign in early 2023, another revamp places read receipts in a circle at the bottom-right corner of message bubbles (and images).You swipe left to see all timestamps and the end-to-end encryption status, while you swipe left to reply/quote a message. This started rolling out in August 2024, with more people receiving it in November.
In January 2025, Google tweaked the design to make the circular background white. In no longer matching the bubble color, the read receipts stand out a great deal more.
L-R: Current, redesign, latest
More than one SIM card will appear as “Connected” in Settings > RCS chats. This will aid international RCS adoption. It started rolling out in January 2024 but was later pulled, with more reports this August. As of late October, many more people — including in the US and physical + eSIM — are getting it.
As of January 2025, more people are seeing dual SIM RCS enabled.
At The Android Show in May, Google announced Key Verifier to “help protect you from scammers who try to impersonate someone you know” in Google Messages. This tool lets you “verify the identity of the other party through public encryption keys.” Contact keys take the form of a scannable QR code that will be available in the Google Contacts app.
For example, if an attacker gains access to a friend’s phone number and uses it on another device to send you a message – which can happen as a result of a SIM swap attack – their contact’s verification status will be marked as no longer verified in the Google Contacts app, suggesting your friend’s account may be compromised or has been changed.
Google says “Key Verifier will launch later this summer in Google Messages on Android 10+ devices.”
Instead of seeing up to four small circular profile pics of contacts in group chats, Google Messages will let you set a custom image. Open Group details or tap the top bar of the conversation, then hit the camera icon in the corner to upload.
When you’re in an RCS chat, you now have two delete options:
You can now “Snooze chat” for: 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or Always. To do so, long-press on a conversation from the main list for the new alarm clock icon or find it in the contacts Details page. The conversation will be grayed out with the clock icon underneath the time/date, while you also get a banner inside the chat where you’ll find “Stop snooze.”
The “New conversation” page becomes the “New chat” — which is more closely aligned with RCS terminology — list. Contacts with RCS get a badge at the right, while their name and number feature Dynamic Color theming instead of just being black/white (SMS).
Google Messages has merged the camera viewfinder and gallery. The old image picker was more compact and kept you in the conversation. When taking a photo or video, you’ll always see 3-6 recent shots. Swiping up reveals more (with “Folders” at the bottom), while you can “Write a caption” before sending.
With this redesign, Google is rolling out the ability to send pictures and videos in “Original quality.” There are two media quality options when sending:
This has been in testing since November, and is now widely available.
After limiting the text field to four lines, Google Messages is letting the box get much taller at 14.
Announced at the start of March, Google Messages will “flag conversational text patterns commonly associated with scams,” especially those that “seem harmless, but turn dangerous over time.” This works on-device, with users seeing a “Scam Detection” card that says “Likely scam: Suspicious activity detected. Common scams often start this way.” You can “Report & block” or tap “Not a scam.” This measure targeting conversational scam is part of the existing Google Messages Settings > Spam protection setting. It is “launching in English first in the U.S., U.K. and Canada and will expand to more countries soon.”
Meanwhile, Google announced in May that Messages has expanded Scam Protection for all users to tackle new sophisticated categories beyond package delivery and job seeking scams:
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