Google has spent much of the few years building and improving its Messages app. Truth is, there remains a lot to be done, but much have changed in the last couple of weeks though. The good news is that some lucky Google Messages users are starting to see the mush-awaited security feature-end-to-end chat.
The feature was first announced by Google sometimes in May, and Wednesday’s announcement will gladden the hearts of million of users out there. Google had said back then that the expanded feature will be available as an open beta later in the year.
Google as per Android Police, has announced that the end-to-end encryption feature for group chats is now in beta testing. What that means is that anyone enrolled in the Play Store program will have access to a more secure experience anytime soon.
It is good news if Google wants to ever compete with Apple’s iMessage and other notable chat apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal in terms of offering chat services.
Messages’ new E2E works the same way the RCS does in terms of one-on-one chats. It appears automatically in supported threads once it becomes active on your device. It appears as a lock icon on the send icon alerting you to the change.
So, be on the look out for the E2E feature on Messages when in active conversation with someone another user or multiparticipant. If you do not have it yet, never worry as there is a possibility that a full roll out could be on the card pretty soon.
Google has also confirmed that expanded emoji reacts are coming to Messages. Emoji reacts allows you to select any emoji for text reactions, as was revealed by some tech blogs a couple of months ago.
Messages has evolved, with more than 1 billion downloads on the Play Store, the app keeps getting more upgrades. In 2020, Google upgraded Messages with a number of features including the ability to tap and hold a message to reply with an emoji reaction. This feature is only new to Messages, but not to Facebook Messenger where users have long had the chance to reply with emoji.
Lately, Google upgraded Smart Reply to include suggested stickers to make it easier to let your loved ones know just how much you care for them. First, you must turn on Smart Reply suggestions that will allow stickers to automatically show up as you text. This eliminates the need to search for one to share at that crucial moment.
