11 Google Messages options, suggestions, and methods

Google Messages is the default SMS and messaging choice on many Android phones. If it is not on the telephone already, it is only a fast obtain from the Google Play Retailer. Its unobtrusive UI is clear and in addition features a library of non-obligatory options that make gentle work of your messaging wants, too.

Many of us have certainly gravitated towards apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and even Discord. Nonetheless, SMS remains to be the default for a cause, and it is one that everybody has entry to with only a telephone quantity. So, it is nonetheless price giving Google Messages a strive — listed here are slightly below a dozen neat suggestions and methods to make your expertise higher.

1 Allow RCS messaging

Ship your texts over knowledge as an alternative of over SMS

From the primary display screen in Messages, faucet your profile icon on the proper aspect of your telephone and choose Messages settings. From there, faucet RCS chats and tick the Activate RCS chats choice. There are additionally a number of extra choices like learn receipts, typing indicators, and different choices. Anybody desirous to migrate to Google Messages ought to use RCS chat because it’s one of many app’s largest options.

RCS chats, to place it merely, ship your texts over knowledge as an alternative of over SMS. Thus, you now not have the 160-character restrict or the MMS dimension limitations. You can too react to messages like you possibly can in iMessage and also you get entry to extra options you do not see in SMS. Plus, with iMessage adopting RCS, it behooves you to get used to the function.

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2 Confirm your end-to-end encryption

Examine for this on a chat-by-chat foundation as nicely

One of many principal advantages of RCS on Google Messages is end-to-end encryption. So long as you and your textual content recipient are each on Google Messages and RCS, your chats will likely be end-to-end encrypted. You may test for this on a chat-by-chat foundation as nicely.

Open any chat you are inquisitive about and faucet the 3-dot menu icon within the prime proper nook of your chat. Choose Particulars. On that display screen, you will see the end-to-end encryption part. If it says Standing: On, congratulations, your chat is encrypted. If it says off, then it is not. There are additionally another choices like force-sending messages with SMS/MMS as an alternative of RCS in case you want. Nonetheless, it will disengage encryption.

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3 Allow or disable chat bubbles

Shortly faucet the bubble to open up the chat

Fb Messenger launched the chat bubbles perform a few years in the past, and it will definitely turned an ordinary function on Android. Messages helps chat bubbles, and you’ll allow it fairly shortly. From the primary Messages display screen, faucet your profile image and choose Messages settings. Within the subsequent menu, faucet Bubbles. From right here, you possibly can choose to show your whole chats into bubbles or solely those you choose.

When enabled, Chat bubbles will present up as, nicely, bubbles on the aspect of your display screen. You may shortly faucet the bubble to open up the chat and reply. It is a little bit of a polarizing function, as many of us do not like having additional stuff on their display screen. Thus, if you wish to flip it off, comply with the directions above and easily flip it off.

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4 Ship pictures in full decision

Pictures will take a bit longer to ship

By default, Google Messages reduces the picture high quality of belongings you ship in order that they ship quicker. If you happen to do not thoughts an extended sending time, you possibly can ship your photographs in full decision. To take action, as soon as once more head to the primary Messages web page, faucet your profile image, after which choose Messages settings. As soon as there, discover the Ship pictures quicker choice and untick the choice.

Your pictures will take a bit longer to ship, however the recipient will get the full-size image as an alternative of 1 with diminished high quality. If you happen to discover that your photographs are taking method too lengthy to ship, you possibly can all the time head again into the settings and reverse the change to ship quicker photographs once more.

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5 Make use of the Suggestion options

Work smarter, not more durable

Google is working to make its apps smarter on a regular basis. One such instance is Suggestion options. To seek out these, head to the house web page of Messages, faucet your profile image and choose Messages settings. Scroll down till you discover the Options choice and choose it. From right here you may have 4 choices that I am going to run by means of shortly.

• Sensible Reply: Suggests fast replies when somebody texts you. It is helpful if you wish to acknowledge one thing somebody mentioned, however you do not have the time to kind out a full message at that second.
• Advised actions: This selection integrates Google Messages with different Google apps, reminiscent of Google Maps, Google Meet, and Google Calendar. So, for instance, if somebody desires to make plans with you subsequent week, Messages could counsel making a calendar occasion to remind you about it.
• Magic Compose: Magic Compose is an AI-drive function that checks your message draft and provides alternate concepts for what you typed. It is in beta, however it does assist in case you’re caught on what to say.
• Advised stickers: A extra enjoyable and fewer sensible function that may counsel emotive stickers based mostly on what you say. So, after I textual content my spouse “I really like you”, it’s going to present me an animated sticker of a bear blowing kisses. It is a good method so as to add some persona to your messages.

Every of the above choices is individually out there. Thus, if you would like one or two of them, however not the entire batch, you possibly can allow and disable them as essential to customise your expertise.

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6 Assign your swipe actions

Archive, delete, and mark a message

Swipe actions work fairly nicely in Google Messages if you get them arrange. By default, swiping a message on the primary web page left or proper sends it to the archives. Nonetheless, you could not need that, or you might have considered trying completely different swipe instructions. Altering it’s fairly simple.

As per the norm, head to the primary web page in Messages and faucet your profile image. Choose Messages settings and scroll down till you discover Swipe actions. As soon as chosen, you are introduced with the power to customise your left and proper swipes. The choices embody archive, delete, and mark a message as learn or unread. You can too flip the swipe capabilities off if you don’t need them.

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I swipe proper to delete and swipe left to mark as learn. It is useful for shortly coping with texts that I do not intend to maintain long-term, reminiscent of two-factor authentication texts or textual content updates about shipped packages after I obtain my supply. As soon as carried out with them, I swipe them away so they do not clog up my inbox.

7 Use Google Messages in an online browser

Textual content out of your PC without cost

Google / Pocket-lint

Google Messages is certainly one of solely a few methods to textual content out of your PC without cost. To do that, use the next steps.

1. Navigate to messages.google.com in your PC.
2. There are two strategies to attach your telephone. For this one, we’ll use the QR code because it would not require a Google account. Faucet the Pair with QR code choice.
3. The web site will generate a QR code.
4. In your telephone, scan the QR code utilizing your digicam app or a QR code scanner of some kind.
5. As soon as authenticated, the webpage will reload with your whole texts.

As soon as carried out, you possibly can safely and shortly textual content out of your internet browser freed from cost. The great factor is that you simply solely should do the setup course of as soon as per system. As soon as it is arrange, you possibly can navigate to messages.google.com on the identical internet browser to right away load your messages once more.

8 Schedule a textual content to ship later in Google Messages

You have got 4 choices

The flexibility to schedule texts is constructed into Messages by default, you simply must know methods to entry it. Luckily, you already know the place it’s. Open any chat and kind out the message you need to ship later. From there, lengthy press the ship button. A window will seem that may allow you to schedule the textual content.

You have got 4 choices. The primary three are predetermined occasions and the ultimate choice permits you to decide your date and time. As soon as carried out, merely ship the message. Google Messages will present that you’ve a scheduled textual content on the backside of your textual content historical past to remind you that it is there.

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To unschedule the textual content, faucet the place it says Scheduled messages to point out the upcoming textual content. Faucet the ship icon to the proper of the textual content to replace the message, ship it instantly, or delete the message.

9 Save vital messages in Google Messages

Save, pin, or in any other case mark a message as vital

It’s potential to save lots of, pin, or in any other case mark a message as vital in Google Messages. To take action, discover the message you need to save. Faucet and maintain the message to pick it after which faucet the star icon on the prime of the display screen to “star” the message. The message will present up with a star icon within the backside proper nook in your textual content to indicate that you simply did it efficiently.

To view your starred messages, open your chat with that particular person and faucet the 3-dot menu icon. Choose the Starred choice to view the listing of messages. This works very equally to pinned messages in Discord, so you should utilize it to save lots of data you could want later.

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To take away a star from a message, go to your starred messages and faucet on the message you need to un-star. When it is pulled up in your message feed, long-press the message and faucet the star icon alongside the highest once more to un-star the message.

10 Pin vital conversations in Google Messages

Will stay on the prime of the listing

Very similar to particular person messages, you may also pin vital conversations to the highest of your message listing. Pinned conversations will stay on the prime of the listing, even in case you get textual content messages from different folks. You may pin a number of conversations as nicely to maintain your most vital contacts on the prime.

The method is kind of simple. Merely long-press any dialog you need to pin. As soon as chosen, faucet the pin icon on the prime of the display screen to pin it. Pinned conversations have a pin icon in the proper margin to let you realize which of them are pinned. To unpin a dialog, repeat the method once more verbatim and it will unpin the dialog.

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11 Different Google Messages suggestions and methods

Smaller options

Google Messages has a wide range of different, smaller options that may make your life somewhat simpler when enabling them. We’ll rapid-fire by means of just a few of those smaller options beneath.

• Auto-delete authentication codes: Faucet your profile image, then Messages settings. Scroll right down to Message group and choose it. Tip the field on. Now, any time a web site sends you a textual content for two-factor authentication, Google Messages will auto-delete them after 24 hours.
• Voice or video name somebody from throughout the chat: Whenever you go into any chat, there’s a telephone icon and a video digicam icon within the prime proper nook. Tapping the previous will provoke a telephone name in your dialer and tapping the latter will provoke a video name through Google Meet. Observe that each events should have Google Meet for video calls to work.
• Assign per-conversation notification tones: Open the chat you need to customise and faucet the 3-dot menu button. Choose Particulars, then Notifications. On the subsequent display screen, you possibly can choose a customized notification sound for simply that contact. Repeat for any contact you need customized tones for.
• React to SMS and RCS texts: Lengthy-press any message you obtain in Google Messages and you’ll react to a message with an emoji. Observe that SMS and iMessage customers will obtain a separate textual content letting them know you reacted to a particular message, however Google Messages (and apps that help this function) customers will see the response on the message itself.