You may open Google Messages today and find a message at the top that appears to be from…Google Messages. This is not a hack or error or anything weird, but it is Google attempting to start a chat with you that’ll inform you of new features as they rollout.
The box appeared for me above all of my chats and says to “Join the official chat for all future feature and media updates.” You can politely say, “No thanks,” or click “Accept” to open a chat with Google Messages.
If you decide to accept the chat, you’ll enter a verified chat session with Google Messages that really is nothing more than a feature-sharing one-way conversation. You’ll notice at the bottom that “Sender has turned off replies” and you are instead only left with suggested buttons at the bottom that can be tapped.
Some of those are “Tell me more” or “Show me how” or “I want more features!” With each tap, the Google Messages chatbot will share other features or attempt to show you how to take advantage of them.
I tapped as many as I could and it showed me how RCS media sharing is improved over old school text messaging, that you can make Selfie GIFs, that you can now share your real-time location, and that scheduled message sending is fully equipped.
None of these features are that new, but they are a part of Google Messages, now that RCS is fully realized in the industry. With Apple supporting RCS and Samsung kicking users from Samsung Messages to Google Messages, this is the future of messaging on Android in the US.
Of course, if this sounds like messaging hell, you could just say “No thanks” when this message pops up and you’ll likely never see it again. If you did opt-in, you can always leave by tapping the 3-dot menu in the top right corner and then choosing to “Unsubscribe.” Or you can set a chat theme and live life to your fullest.
Google Play Link: Google Messages
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