What you need to know
- Users on Reddit reported new read receipt indicators for RCS chats in Google Messages and an APK teardown provided more insight.
- Per the teardown, Google is testing a change in Messages that moves those sent/delivered indicators inside the bubble with your text.
- A Reddit user discovered that you'd have to press and hold a message and drag it to view the time it was sent.
Google is reportedly developing a redesign for its RCS text indicators in Messages.
The company is developing a (type of) "in-line" read receipt notification for its RCS-enabled chats. Users on Reddit have reported these new indicators on their devices while in the Google Messages beta (via Android Authority). More importantly, the publication conducted an APK dive of the recent beta version (messages.android_20241029_00_RC00)
From screenshots shared on Reddit to the publication's teardown, these new indicators will occupy the right-most corner of your text bubble.
Further digging shows that the animations have changed, too. According to the post, sending a message is accompanied by an ellipsis (three dots) before turning into a single check mark. A second check mark — or part of it — appears against the first, showing that the message has been sent and delivered successfully.
These new receipt indicators are (potentially) always present in the text thread no matter the number of messages. This contrasts how Messages is currently where the most recently sent text displays its RCS sent/delivered indicators. Additionally, a user on Reddit in the beta states Google changed how you can see the time of a text.
The user states that they must "hold and pull the screen to see the time the message came/sent." After that, the app will automatically drop the text to cover those extra details.
A user sent a tip to Android Central stating this change also shifts the message timestamp. The user states that you must "pull left" on your display to view the time each message was sent in a thread. Pulling right seems to let you directly reply to a text, similar to how it currently works on Messages today.
Google messages Read receipt u.i changed for me. from r/GoogleMessages
As the test expands to more users, it's unclear when Google will roll this out. Reports of these revamped indicators were posted recently, so the company will likely wait a while for feedback/testing before pushing it to everyone.
It's worth remembering that Google Messages used to (digitally) say "Sending..." and "Sent" when texting others. That changed last year when the company introduced the new checkmarks we've become accustomed to seeing in the app. With this change looming, Google moves them from beneath your message, beside the time, to inside the bubble with your text.
Aside from your texts, it was reported recently that Google Messages could receive extra privacy options through Profile Discovery. Such options include showing your name and profile icon to "people you message," "only contacts," or "no one." These additions were discovered on the setup screen for the Messages app.
