We all have our own favorite messaging app, but if you’re using an Android phone, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re using Google Messages. Not only does this app work well, but it also provides excellent support for RCS. Google made a huge push to get RCS into more hands and with Apple finally on board, things can only get better from here on out.
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Of course, that also means that Google Messages needs to constantly be updated with new features, like the recent double-tap addition, in order to keep itself ahead of the pack. Luckily, Google’s been pretty good at this, delivering a steady flow of updates that makes the experience better. And it looks like something new is already on the way, as the folks at 9to5Google were able to spot some changes in the latest beta.
Google Messages keeps getting better
According to the news outlet, there are two main features that have been added to the latest beta version that comes in at 20241112_00_RC00. Perhaps the most important out of the two is the ability to have your profile show up on other people’s phones the way you intend it. You can now have your Google profile name and image show up unaltered when chatting to other people.
Of course, there are limitations for now, with users on the other end still being able to rename you if they want. But when it comes to the profile image, that’s something that will stick no matter what. Of course, for privacy reasons, Google does make some settings available that will restrict this information from being shown to those you don’t want to. For now there are three settings, with the ability to show your profile to those you message, those in your contacts, and also you can choose to omit the profile completely, showing it to no one.
In addition to the above, it looks like there will also be a small change during chats that will now show a “Sending as” banner. For the most part, this isn’t a big deal, but it does provide a little more clarity when it comes to chats. For now, this is just rolling out to those in the Google Messages beta. If interested, you can always sign up and take part, but just understand that this is beta software, so it may not always work as intended.
