After the latest upgrades received by the stock texting app, you may want to learn Google Messages Tips and Tricks to speed up your Android texting. It might seem like a basic texting app, but there are alot of features you should know about to get the most out of Google’s iMessage rival.
The texting app from Google will definitely rely on RCS services provided by your network. And if you are located in a country or location that offers this service then the chances are that you will enjoy full service and features available to this app.
Google Messages Tips and Tricks
RCS (Rich Communication Service)
Google’s service known as Rich Communication Services offers iMessage-like features like read receipts and improved photo and video support. To enable the service click the three dots in the top right corner and choose Settings, Chat features, and then Enable chat features.
Once enabled you’ll see a “Chatting with…” message in conversations with fellow RCS users. Messages sent via RCS will have a timestamp underneath them. As well as a small padlock symbol, indicating that the contents of the text conversation are encrypted.
Chats in Bubbles
If you’re using Android 11 or later, your messaging apps can use bubbles. Which are little pop-ups indicating that a new chat is incoming.
Google Messages includes support for bubbles, and you can enable them (either for the app as a whole or only for specific contacts) by tapping the three dots (top right) and choosing Settings then Bubbles.
Smart Replies and Actions
The texting app now offers quick suggested responses based on the last message or two. Just like Gmail does for emails. When you get a text you get an auto-reply popup, you can tap these smart replies to reply in the affirmative or negative, to send a note of thanks, or to deliver an appropriate emoji.
There’s a related feature called suggested actions, which lets you create a calendar event if you mention a time and date, for example, or start a Google Duo call, all with one touch in the conversation window. To enable or disable either of these features, tap on the three dots in the top right corner of the main screen, then pick Settings and Suggestions.
Pinch to Zoom
Users can use pinch to zoom inside the Google Messages interface. Open up a conversation, hold two fingers on the screen, then move them apart from each other to make the text bigger.
It’s handy for getting a better look at information (such as addresses) that people have texted to you, as well as checking details in photos. When you want to go back to normal, reverse the pinch-to-zoom gesture.
Star Messages
After getting popular on Whatsapp messenger, you now get a simple star feature that can help get back to important messages easily. If you use starred messages in your email inbox, it’s the same idea. Long press on a message then tap the star icon to apply it, and you can quickly find your starred emails by tapping the three dots (top right) and then choosing Starred.