What you need to know
- The latest beta version of Google Messages showcases a new upcoming feature.
- The messaging service will soon let users delete sent messages similar to WhatsApp.
- This feature would work only with the same app version or newer; older versions likely wouldn't support it.
RCS messaging has been a convenience for every Android phone ever since the Google Messages app started pushing it. The search giant has constantly added new features, and the new one in the works might allow users to rely less on third-party messaging services.
A recent APK Insight from folks at 9to5Google reveals that Google Messages, which incorporates RCS (Rich Communication Services), will likely add new functionality that lets users delete sent messages forever — similar to what we are used to on other messaging platforms like WhatsApp, for example.
According to the publication, the Google Messages app in beta (version 20250131_02_RC00) showcases several strings that represent multiple upcoming features app users are likely to see. Like WhatsApp, users will be able to delete the messages they send, which further gives options like “Delete for me” and “Delete for everyone.”
These actions will reciprocate with additional relevant notes like “You deleted a message”, “Message deleted by its author” and “sender attempted to delete a message.” As mentioned, these features are quite familiar on other messaging services, and it is encouraging to see RCS likely to implement them soon.
Users will have to remember that even though these features should roll out to the latest version of the RCS, only users on the same version of the messaging service would be able to take full advantage of them. For instance, if you are on the latest RCS version that supports deleting a sent message, the recipient on the receiving end would still see it if the user is on the older version of the RCS service on Android phones.
It is still unclear whether this will be applicable for the iOS version of RCS, and it will only be determined when the feature rolls officially to Android devices followed by iOS devices — likely in the near future.
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