11 Google Messages options, suggestions, and methods

Google Messages is the default SMS and messaging choice on many Android phones. If it isn’t on the cellphone already, it is only a fast obtain from the Google Play Retailer. Its unobtrusive UI is clear and likewise features a library of elective options that make mild work of your messaging wants, too.

Many of us have certainly gravitated towards apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and even Discord. Nonetheless, SMS continues to be the default for a purpose, and it is one that everybody has entry to with only a cellphone quantity. So, it is nonetheless value giving Google Messages a strive — listed below 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 in Messages, faucet your profile icon on the correct facet of your cellphone and choose Messages settings. From there, faucet RCS chats and tick the Activate RCS chats choice. There are additionally a number of further 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 not have the 160-character restrict or the MMS dimension limitations. You can even react to messages like you may in iMessage and also you get entry to further options you do not see in SMS. Plus, with iMessage adopting RCS, it behooves you to get used to the characteristic.

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2 Confirm your end-to-end encryption

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

One of many essential 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 shall be end-to-end encrypted. You possibly can test for this on a chat-by-chat foundation as effectively.

Open any chat you are interested by and faucet the 3-dot menu icon within the high proper nook of your chat. Choose Particulars. On that display, 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 for those who favor. Nonetheless, it will disengage encryption.

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3 Allow or disable chat bubbles

Rapidly 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 a typical characteristic on Android. Messages helps chat bubbles, and you may allow it fairly rapidly. From the primary Messages display, faucet your profile image and choose Messages settings. Within the subsequent menu, faucet Bubbles. From right here, you may choose to show all your chats into bubbles or solely those you choose.

When enabled, Chat bubbles will present up as, effectively, bubbles on the facet of your display. You possibly can rapidly faucet the bubble to open up the chat and reply. This can be a little bit of a polarizing characteristic, as many of us do not like having additional stuff on their display. Thus, if you wish to flip it off, comply with the directions above and easily flip it off.

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4 Ship photographs in full decision

Photographs will take a bit longer to ship

By default, Google Messages reduces the picture high quality of stuff you ship in order that they ship quicker. In the event you do not thoughts an extended sending time, you may ship your photos 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 photographs quicker choice and untick the choice.

Your photographs will take a bit longer to ship, however the recipient will get the full-size image as an alternative of 1 with decreased high quality. In the event you discover that your photos are taking approach too lengthy to ship, you may at all times head again into the settings and reverse the change to ship quicker photos once more.

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5 Make use of the Suggestion options

Work smarter, not tougher

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

• Good 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 sort out a full message at that second.
• Urged actions: This selection integrates Google Messages with different Google apps, comparable to Google Maps, Google Meet, and Google Calendar. So, for instance, if somebody needs to make plans with you subsequent week, Messages might counsel making a calendar occasion to remind you about it.
• Magic Compose: Magic Compose is an AI-drive characteristic that checks your message draft and provides alternate concepts for what you typed. It is in beta, nevertheless it does assist for those who’re caught on what to say.
• Urged stickers: A extra enjoyable and fewer sensible characteristic that can counsel emotive stickers primarily based on what you say. So, once I textual content my spouse “I really like you”, it will present me an animated sticker of a bear blowing kisses. It is a good approach so as to add some character to your messages.

Every of the above choices is individually accessible. Thus, in order for you one or two of them, however not the entire batch, you may 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 effectively in Google Messages once you get them arrange. By default, swiping a message on the primary web page left or proper sends it to the archives. Nonetheless, it’s possible you’ll 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 offered with the flexibility to customise your left and proper swipes. The choices embrace archive, delete, and mark a message as learn or unread. You can even flip the swipe capabilities off if you do not need them.

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I swipe proper to delete and swipe left to mark as learn. It is useful for rapidly coping with texts that I do not intend to maintain long-term, comparable to two-factor authentication texts or textual content updates about shipped packages after I obtain my supply. As soon as performed 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 at no cost

Google / Pocket-lint

Google Messages is certainly one of solely a few methods to textual content out of your PC at no 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 cellphone. For this one, we’ll use the QR code because it does not require a Google account. Faucet the Pair with QR code choice.
3. The web site will generate a QR code.
4. In your cellphone, scan the QR code utilizing your digital camera app or a QR code scanner of some kind.
5. As soon as authenticated, the webpage will reload with all your texts.

As soon as performed, you may safely and rapidly textual content out of your net browser freed from cost. The great factor is that you just solely must do the setup course of as soon as per system. As soon as it is arrange, you may navigate to messages.google.com on the identical net browser to right away load your messages once more.

8 Schedule a textual content to ship later in Google Messages

You could have 4 choices

The power to schedule texts is constructed into Messages by default, you simply have to know easy methods to entry it. Thankfully, 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 can allow you to schedule the textual content.

You could have 4 choices. The primary three are predetermined occasions and the ultimate choice enables you to choose your date and time. As soon as performed, 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 correct of the textual content to replace the message, ship it instantly, or delete the message.

9 Save necessary messages in Google Messages

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

It’s attainable to avoid wasting, pin, or in any other case mark a message as necessary 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 high of the display 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 just did it efficiently.

To view your starred messages, open your chat with that individual and faucet the 3-dot menu icon. Choose the Starred choice to view the checklist of messages. This works very equally to pinned messages in Discord, so you need to use it to avoid wasting info it’s possible you’ll 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 necessary conversations in Google Messages

Will stay on the high of the checklist

Very similar to particular person messages, you may as well pin necessary conversations to the highest of your message checklist. Pinned conversations will stay on the high of the checklist, even for those who get textual content messages from different individuals. You possibly can pin a number of conversations as effectively to maintain your most necessary contacts on the high.

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 high of the display to pin it. Pinned conversations have a pin icon in the correct margin to let you recognize 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 a bit simpler when enabling them. We’ll rapid-fire by way of just a few of those smaller options under.

• 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 website 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 cellphone icon and a video digital camera icon within the high proper nook. Tapping the previous will provoke a cellphone name in your dialer and tapping the latter will provoke a video name by way of Google Meet. Observe that each events must 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 following display, you may 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 may 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 selected message, however Google Messages (and apps that assist this characteristic) customers will see the response on the message itself.