Tag Archives: Messages

Less to stress and more to love with Messages by Google

Messaging is how we stay in touch with friends, keep up with family, and get things done. But it’s not always as easy as it should be. Conversations with friends on other platforms can be unnecessarily challenging. Important messages slip through the cracks because of cluttered inboxes. And sometimes we forget entirely to reach out on special occasions.

Our latest updates to Messages by Google help ease some of these pain points so that you’re free to connect with the people you care about — no matter what device they use.

Less out of the loop, more in the group

When people with Android phones and iPhones message each other, not everything works the way it should. That’s because these conversations rely on SMS, an outdated messaging standard, instead of RCS, a modern, more secure industry standard Android uses that enables high-quality videos, emoji reactions, end-to-end encryption and more.

While our latest updates can’t fix everything about Android and iPhone conversations, here are a few ways we're addressing some of the biggest issues we've heard from you.

Better reactions ?

Feel the love (and laughter, confusion or excitement) from your iPhone friends, too. Reactions from iPhone users are now displayed on your Android phone as emojis, just like when you’re messaging with someone who’s using an Android device. Starting on devices set to English, with additional languages to follow.

Share sharper videos

Today, the RCS standard lets people with Android devices share beautiful, high-quality photos and videos with one another. But unfortunately, without RCS, they look blurry when you share them with your iPhone friends. Now everyone can watch your videos in the same resolution that you do since we’re bringing Google Photos into Messages. You can send your videos as Google Photos links right inside the conversation, preserving their clarity. Coming soon, you’ll be able to send your photos this way, too.

But these new updates can only do so much. We encourage Apple to join the rest of the mobile industry and adopt RCS so that we can make messaging better and more secure, no matter what device you choose.

Less clutter, more conversation

We receive so many messages each day, it can be difficult to separate the important ones from everything else, and easy to miss some altogether. These new tools help you break through the clutter and stay on top of the conversations that matter the most.

Keep your messages organized

Organized inbox automatically sorts your messages into Personal and Business tabs so you can easily find what you need at any given moment — similarly to how most of our email inboxes work. Plus, you can set one-time password messages to be automatically deleted after 24 hours to help reduce the clutter even more. Originally launched in India, this is now expanding to the U.S.

Get relationship superpowers

Did you leave someone hanging recently? Now gentle nudges can remind you to reply to messages you may have missed or need to follow-up on so that nothing important slips through the cracks. This will roll out first to English users around the globe.

Less belated, more elated

It’s way too easy to forget important dates. Here are a few new ways Messages can help you send the right thing at the right moment to your favorite people.

Remember to celebrate ?

It’s now easier than ever to remember to wish your friends a happy birthday. If you save someone’s birthday in your device’s contacts app, you’ll get a gentle reminder about your friend’s special day when you open Messages or jump into a conversation with them. (Candles not included.)

Create the perfect emoji

If you have Gboard set as your keyboard in Messages, you don’t need to settle for one emoji to tell your story. Emoji Kitchen is bigger than ever with over 2,000 new emoji mashups available as stickers. Replace heart eyes with pretzels, make it rain disco balls or add some love to your favorite foods in an endless array of emoji possibilities.

Hopefully these updates, which roll out over the coming weeks, make it easier to connect to everyone and everything you care about. Open or download Messages by Google to try them.

Read more about other great features coming to Android.

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New Android features for messaging, entertainment and more

Check out new features and updates coming to your Android device.

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6 new features on Android this summer

From keeping your account password safe to scheduling text messages to send at the right moment, we’re constantly rolling out new updates to the 3 billion active Android devices around the world. Today, we’re welcoming summer with six updates for your Android that focus on safety  — so you’re protected at every turn.


1. Android Earthquake Alerts System is rolling out globally

Earthquake alert screen that clicks through to an earthquake safety info screen

Last year, we embarked on a mission to build the world’s largest earthquake detection network, based on technology built into Android devices. With this free system, people in affected areas can get alerts seconds before an earthquake hits, giving you advance notice in case you need to seek safety. We recently launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System in New Zealand and Greece. Today, we’re introducing the Android Earthquake Alerts System in Turkey, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

We are prioritizing launching Earthquake Alerts in countries with higher earthquake risks, and hope to launch in more and more countries over the coming year.


2. Star what’s important with the Messages app

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With tons of messages from family, friends, colleagues and others, it’s easy for information to get lost. Now, you can star a message on your Messages app to keep track of what’s important, and easily find it later without scrolling through all of your conversations. Just tap and hold your message, then star it. And when you want to revisit a message, like your friend’s address or the photo from your family reunion, tap on the starred category. 


Starred messages will start to roll out more broadly over the coming weeks.


3. Find the perfect Emoji Kitchen sticker at the perfect time

After typing a message, relevant emoji mixes are proactively displayed at the top of the keyword

In May, we introduced a new section in your recently used Emoji Kitchen stickers so you can quickly get back to the ones you use most frequently. Soon you’ll also start to see contextual suggestions in Emoji Kitchen once you’ve typed a message. These will help you discover the perfect emoji combination at the exact moment you need it.


Contextual Emoji Kitchen suggestions are available in Gboard beta today and are coming to all Gboard users this summer for messages written in English, Spanish and Portuguese on devices running Android 6.0 and above.


4. Access more of your favorite apps with just your voice

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Ask Google to open or search many of your favorite apps using just your voice — you can say things like,  “Hey Google, pay my Capital One bill” to jump right into the app and complete the task or “Hey Google, check my miles on Strava” to quickly see your weekly progress right on the lock screen. See what else you can do by saying “Hey Google, shortcuts.” 


5. Improved Password Input and gaze detection on Voice Access

A gaze detection icon on a screen changes from crossed out to active when a character turns its head towards the device to speak the "scroll down" command in Voice Access

Built with and for people with motor disabilities, and helpful for those without, Voice Access gives you quick and efficient phone and app navigation with just your voice.


With gaze detection, now in beta, you can ask Voice Access to work only when you are looking at the screen — so you can naturally move between talking to friends and using your phone. 


Voice Access now has enhanced password input. When it recognizes a password field, it will let you input letters, numbers and symbols. For example, you can say “capital P a s s w o r d” or names of symbols (like “dollar sign” to input a $), so it’s faster to safely enter your password.


6. More customization and new app experiences on Android Auto

After a user taps on the Messages app icon and + New, Google Assistant is activated to help send a new message from the launcher screen

You can now customize more of your Android Auto experience for easier use, like personalizing your launcher screen directly from your phone and manually setting dark mode. It’s also easier to browse content with new tabs in your media apps, a “back to top” option and an A to Z button in the scroll bar. And, if it’s your first time using Android Auto, you can now get started faster in your car with a few simple taps.


We’ve also added new app experiences to help enhance your drive. EV charging, parking and navigation apps are now available to use in Android Auto. Plus, we’ve improved the messaging experience, so you can access your favorite messaging apps  from the launcher screen. You can easily read and send new messages directly from apps like WhatsApp or Messages — now available globally. 


These Android Auto features are available on phones running Android 6.0 or above, and when connected to your compatible car.

Your Android is now even safer — and 5 other new features

It wasn't all that long ago that we introduced Android users to features like Emoji Kitchen and auto-narrated audiobooks. But we like to stay busy, so today we're highlighting six of the latest Google updates that will make Android phones more secure and convenient — for everyone.

1. Keep your accounts safe with Password Checkup on Android

Password Checkup notification screen

Password Checkup notification screen

On Android, you can save passwords to your Google account, making it quicker and easier to sign into your apps and services using Autofill. Your login credentials are one of your first lines of defense against intruders, so we’ve integrated Password Checkup into devices running Android 9 and above. This feature lets you know if the password you used has been previously exposed and what to do about it.


Now when you enter a password into an app on your phone using Autofill with Google, we’ll check those credentials against a list of known compromised passwords — that is, passwords that have potentially already been stolen and posted on the web. If your credentials show up on one of these lists, we’ll alert you and guide you to check your password and change it. 


Learn more on our support page about changing unsafe passwords. And you can find additional information about how this product works in this blog post.


We’re passionate about building defense into every detail on Android, from downloading apps to browsing the web to choosing where and when you share your data. Learn more about how Android keeps you safe.

2. Use schedule send in Messages to write a text now and send it later

Schedule a text to send it at your chosen date and time

Click on the image above to learn how to schedule a text to send at your chosen date and time

Over half a billion people across the world use Messages to seamlessly and safely connect with family, friends and others every month. To continue  improving the way you communicate and help you stay in touch, we’re starting to roll out schedule send in Messages for phones running Android 7 and newer. 


Having loved ones in another time zone or on a different schedule can sometimes make it difficult to send a text at an appropriate time. With schedule send, you can compose a message ahead of time when it’s convenient for you, and schedule it to send at the right moment. Just write your message as you normally would, then hold and press the send button to select a date and time to deliver your message. Download Messages or update to the latest version to schedule your next text.

3. No need to look at your screen, with TalkBack

Start and stop media with Talkback gestures

Click on the image above to see how to start and stop media with Talkback gestures 

For those who are blind or have trouble seeing the display, the new version of TalkBack, Android’s screen reader, is now available. Using spoken feedback and gestures, TalkBack makes Android even more accessible and opens up a full phone experience without needing to look at your screen. We worked closely with the blind and low vision communities on this revamp of TalkBack to incorporate the most popularly requested features including: more intuitive gestures, a unified menu, a new reading control menu and more. Get TalkBack today by downloading or updating your Android accessibility apps in the Google Play Store.

4. Get more done hands-free with Google Assistant

Use Google Assistant to send a text, even when your phone is locked

Use Google Assistant to send a text, even when your phone is locked

We want to give you more ways to use your phone hands-free — so you can do things like use your voice to make calls, set timers or alarms and play music. Now, the latest updates to Google Assistant make it easier to get things done on your phone without needing to be right next to it.


Assistant now works better even when your phone is locked or across the room with new cards that can be read with just a glance. Just say “Hey Google, set an alarm” or “Hey Google, play pop music on Spotify.” To get the most out of Assistant when your phone is locked, simply turn on Lock Screen Personal Results in Assistant setting and say “Hey Google '' to send text messages and make calls.

5. Come to the dark side with dark theme in Google Maps 

San Francisco on Google Maps dark theme

San Francisco on Google Maps dark theme

These days, we’re all experiencing a bit of screen fatigue. With dark theme in Google Maps soon expanding to all Android users globally, you can give your eyes a much-needed break and save on battery life. Simply head to your Settings, tap on Theme and then on “Always in Dark Theme” to lower the lights when you’re navigating, exploring, or getting things done with Maps. Change your mind? Just tap on “Always in Light Theme” to switch it back.

6. A better drive with Android Auto

Stay entertained with voice-activated games on your display with Android Auto

Stay entertained with voice-activated games on your display with Android Auto

Android Auto’s new features help you enjoy the drive more. With custom wallpapers, you can now select from a variety of car-inspired backgrounds to personalize your car display. For longer drives, you and your passengers can stay entertained with voice-activated games like trivia and “Jeopardy!” Just say, “Hey Google, play a game” to get started. 


We’ve also launched shortcuts on the launch screen. These provide convenient access to your contacts and even allow you to use Assistant to complete tasks like checking the weather or remotely adjusting the thermostat by simply tapping on the icon on your car display, just as you would on your phone. For cars with wider screens, you can do more with a split-screen that features a real-time view of Google Maps and media controls. And if you have family and friends coming along for the ride, you can now set a privacy screen to control when Android Auto appears on your car display. 


These Android Auto features will be available in the coming days on phones running Android 6.0 or above, and when connected to your compatible car.

Source: Android


Helping you connect around the world with Messages

Whether you’re making plans or just catching up, many of us rely on messaging to stay in touch. Messages by Google lets you start a video call from your conversation, message from the web, and use helpful features like Smart Reply, while also protecting you from spam. Today we’re sharing the latest updates we’ve made to Messages to help you connect safely around the world. 

RCS messaging is now available globally

As smartphones get more advanced, our communication apps should also progress to meet our changing needs. For the past few years, we’ve worked with the mobile industry and device makers on several carrier networks in certain countries to provide chat features in Messages based on the open Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard. Chat features upgrade SMS text messaging so you can send and receive better quality photos and videos, chat over Wi-Fi or data, know when your message is read, share reactions, and enjoy more dynamic and engaging group chats. 


Today, we’ve completed our global rollout of chat features to make this modern messaging experience universal and interconnected for everyone on Android. Now anyone using Messages around the world1 has access to modern chat features either from their carrier or directly from Google.

Gif illustrating that chat features are available around the world

More security in your chat conversations 

We recognize that your conversations are private and it’s our responsibility to keep your personal information safe. We’re continually improving security protections to safeguard your privacy and will be rolling out end-to-end encryption, starting with one-on-one RCS conversations between people using Messages. End-to-end encryption ensures that no one, including Google and third parties, can read the content of your messages as they travel between your phone and the phone of the person you’re messaging. This will roll out to beta testers beginning this month and continue into next year. Your eligible conversations will automatically upgrade to be end-to-end encrypted. End-to-end encryption is only available when both you and the person you’re messaging have Messages installed and chat features on. To learn more about this feature, please visit our help center. 


We’re excited to share these updates and continue to improve the Messages experience around the world. To access the newest features, update your Messages app to the latest version or download the app and turn chat features on.

1 In some cases, RCS availability depends on your device and service provider.

5 Messages features to stay connected in more personal ways

These days I’m messaging loved ones more often since I haven’t been able to see them in person. Staying in touch with them is so important right now, and it may mean quickly checking in, showing support, or simply sharing updates throughout my day. Here are five ways Messages helps you connect with people in more personal and expressive ways:

1. Express your feelings

Now when you receive a photo, video or chat message, you can react to it in an instant. Just long press on the message and you’ll see animated expressions to choose from, like, love, laughter, surprise, sadness, anger and dislike. Reactions are available in Messages conversations with chat features enabled.

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2. Check in on loved ones

We’re expanding Smart Reply to include suggested stickers to make it easier to let loved ones know you care. If you’ve chosen to turn on Smart Reply suggestions, stickers will automatically show up as you’re texting, so there’s no need to search for one to share in the moment. Suggested stickers are currently available in English.

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3. Personalize your photos

With a media editor built into Messages, you can easily create art with your photos and share them right in your conversation. To get started, take a photo with the in-app camera and add text or draw on the image using brushes before sharing them with friends and family.

Media editor.gif

4. Go beyond a text

Voice messages are a great way to communicate in a more personal way, especially if you don’t need an immediate response. They’re also perfect for those moments when you simply want to say something instead of sending a text. We’ve recently made it easier to send a voice message with a dedicated button. Now, you can easily let loved ones know you’re thinking of them with a meaningful message or share a quick update by holding down the microphone button within the compose bar to record and attach your message.

Voice messages.png

5. Stay connected even when you’re apart

For the past few months, most of us have been relying on different ways to keep in touch with friends and family because we can't see them in person. With video calling integrated in Messages, it’s easy to move your conversation from texting to a video call to continue your catch up face to face. By tapping on the video call button at the top right corner of the app, you can now easily start a Google Duo video call with the person you’re messaging.

AM-Duo video calling.gif

I’ve been using these features with loved ones to make our conversations more personal and fun. Now you can try them out by updating the app to the latest version or by downloading Messages.

Safer conversations in Messages with Verified SMS and Spam Protection

In addition to enhancing messaging on Android with Rich Communication Services (RCS)  and bringing you helpful features with Messages, we also want to provide a safer messaging experience. Today we have two new updates to share on that front.


Trustworthy business messages with Verified SMS


SMS messages help businesses share useful information with consumers, things like one-time passwords, account alerts or appointment confirmations. Yet sometimes it can be difficult to trust the identity of these messages, which are often sent from a random number. Some messages may even come from bad actors pretending to be from businesses you trust and ask for private information or link to dangerous websites—this is called phishing.


Verified SMS for Messages, rolling out today in a number of countries, will help you confirm the true identity of the business that’s texting you. The feature works by verifying, on a per-message basis, that content is sent by a specific business. When a message is verified—which is done without sending your messages to Google—you’ll see the business name and logo as well as a verification badge in the message thread. 


1-800-Flowers, Banco Bradesco, Kayak, Payback, and SoFi are among the first brands to send messages with Verified SMS. Google Pay India and verification codes from Google will also be enrolled in Verified SMS. And more businesses are signing up to use Verified SMS every day.

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Verified SMS is rolling out gradually on Messages in nine countries, starting in the U.S., India, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Philippines, Spain and Canada, with more to come. Verified SMS is just one of our efforts to improve your messages with businesses; we also continue to work on enhancing the chats you have on Messages with Rich Business Messaging (RBM).


Real-time spam detection 


In addition to verifying the businesses sending you messages, we are working on protecting you from spam in Messages. 


With Spam protection for Messages, we warn you of suspected spam and unsafe websites we’ve detected. If you see a suspected spam warning in Messages you can help us improve our spam models by letting us know if it’s spam or not. You can also report spam texts in Messages at anytime, and block the conversation so you won’t receive future messages.

blogpost-spam.png

Spam protection, which works with your message data while keeping your messages private, has been available over the past year in a number of countries and is now rolling out broadly in the U.S. 

Upgrading messaging on Android in the U.S. with RCS

Our Messages app brings you a seamless and helpful messaging experience on Android, from connecting you on mobile and desktop, giving you suggestions from the Google Assistant, and making it easy to search your conversations.


To make your conversations more seamless, we’ve worked on upgrading traditional SMS text messaging with more useful chat features, powered by RCS (Rich Communication Services). When you and your friends message each other with these chat features, you can chat over Wi-Fi or mobile data, send and receive high-resolution photos and videos, and see if people have received your latest messages. Plus, you’ll get better group chats, with the ability to name groups, add and remove people to and from groups, and see if people haven’t seen the latest messages. 


Chat features are already available for some of you in Messages, and today we’re starting to broadly roll them out in the U.S. If you already have Messages, you’ll also be prompted to enable chat features in the coming weeks. If you don’t have Messages, you can download it on the Play Store. We expect this service to be broadly available in the U.S. by the end of year.
Chat features in Messages.gif

Earlier this year, we enabled the ability for anyone in the UK, France, and Mexico to get chat features in Messages and we’ll continue to work on bringing this to everyone on Messages around the world. We’re also committed to working with our partners, including carriers and device makers, to provide a consistent and interoperable experience for everyone on Android.


Access the Assistant in Messages, plus the latest on RCS

Chances are you’ve sent a handful of messages today—to your family, your friends, and maybe even a business. With Messages, we want to help you easily connect to those people and get more done with fewer taps.


Last year we brought a number of new features to Messages, including better search, quicker access to your camera, GIFs, and the ability to chat from the web. Messages also includes Smart Reply, which gives you quick suggestions for replies. One out of every ten messages in English are sent using Smart Reply, and this week we’re rolling out Smart Reply in Spanish. Today we’re sharing an update on a new feature you’ll start to see soon in the app.


One tap to ask the Google Assistant for more information


Over the coming months, you’ll be able to get help from the Google Assistant within Messages for English users around the globe. The Messages app uses on-device AI to offer suggestion chips (similar to Smart Reply) relevant to your conversation, helping you quickly find and share information about three categories to start: movies, restaurants and weather.


Messages_GIF

You can tap on the suggestion chip to learn more from your Assistant, and if you find the info is helpful, you can share the information in your conversation. If you’re chatting about a movie, you might see a suggestion chip to learn more about that film. By tapping the chip, you can ask the Assistant to pull up a card with recent movie reviews or showtimes, which you can choose to share back into your conversation with just another tap. If you don’t choose to share that information, the other person won’t see it.


Improving the standard messaging experience with RCS


To improve the standard messaging experience on Android, we’ve been working with many of our ecosystem partners, including Samsung, Huawei, America Movil, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telenor, and Vodafone to make RCS (Rich Communication Services) more widely available. Google has helped to launch RCS with partners in 24 countries, bringing enhanced features in your conversations like group chats, read receipts, and high quality media sharing. We will continue to work to bring better messaging to every Android user, regardless of their device or carrier.


We also want to improve the messages you get from brands to be more interactive and give you the opportunity to learn and do more. For example, with Walgreens in the U.S., patients receive prescription refill reminders and notifications when orders are ready for pickup. With Citi, select U.S. credit card and retail bank customers can quickly check their balance or see a short history of recent transactions. These messaging experiences are built as part of Google’s RCS Business Messaging program with messaging partners 3CInteractive and LivePerson.


We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the industry to bring better messaging to Android users everywhere.


The latest on Messages, Allo, Duo and Hangouts

Communicating with the people in our lives is one of the most important things we do every day, whether it’s chatting with friends about an upcoming trip, calling mom to check in, or touching base with colleagues. Over the past few years, we’ve built products to help improve the way you communicate and today we’re sharing an update on our current efforts, and our focus moving toward a simpler communications experience.


Investing more in Messages, and bringing the best of Allo to Messages

We want every single Android device to have a great default messaging experience. We’ve been working closely with the mobile industry to upgrade SMS so that people around the world can more easily enjoy group chats, share high-res photos, and get read receipts on any Android device. Thanks to partnerships with over 40 carriers and device makers, over 175 million of you are now using Messages, our messaging app for Android phones, every month.


In parallel, we built Google Allo, a smart messaging app, to help you get more done in your chats and express yourself more easily. Earlier this year we paused investment in Allo and brought some of its most-loved features—like Smart Reply, GIFs and desktop support—into Messages. Given Messages’ continued momentum, we’ve decided to stop supporting Allo to focus on Messages.


Allo will continue to work through March 2019 and until then, you’ll be able to export all of your existing conversation history from the app—here are instructions on how to do so. We've learned a lot from Allo, particularly what’s possible when you incorporate machine learning features, like the Google Assistant, into messaging.


Making video calls even easier with Duo

We built Duo, our simple, high-quality video calling app, so you never miss a moment with the people who matter most. It’s one of Google's highest rated mobile apps and is seeing strong growth and engagement across both Android and iOS.


This year we launched Duo support for iPad, Android Tablet, Chromebook, and Smart Displays, giving you more flexibility to make calls from your favorite devices. We also launched the ability to leave a video message, and will continue to bring more quality improvements based on machine learning that make video calls with Duo simple and reliable.


Continuing our enterprise focus with Hangouts

Communications at work, on both desktop and mobile, is critical to business success. In March of last year, we announced plans to evolve classic Hangouts to focus on two experiences that help bring teams together: Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet. We’ve seen great adoption with both among our G Suite customers. Recently, we announced the ability to organize meetings with up to 100 participants in Meet and made it easier for businesses to use meeting solutions without worrying about compatibility with existing equipment. In the coming months, Chat customers will be able to include people from outside of their organization, making it easy to stay aligned with clients, vendors, partners and others, all from one place.


Hangouts Chat and Meet are primarily focused on team collaboration for G Suite customers and at some point will be made available for existing Hangouts users, too. We’re fully committed to supporting Hangouts users in the meantime.


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We’re excited by the progress we’ve made with our communications experience over the past few years, and ready to take what we’ve learned from Allo and put it to work to make Messages even better. And by refocusing on Messages and Duo for consumers and Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet for team collaboration, we’re focused on delivering a simpler and more unified communications experience for all of you.