Thebest messaging appsfor Android allow you to edit the texts you send easily. Google Messages is the only outlier, lacking the ability to edit RCS messages. In December 2023, flags in the Messages beta app revealed that Google was working on this feature. A new report confirms the imminent arrival of the edit option for sent texts in Google Messages and sheds more light on how it will work.
@AssembleDebugenabled some hidden flags and got the edit option to work in the latest beta release of Google Messages. From the leaker’s hands-on experience, the feature appears relatively simple to use. Long press on a sent text to bring up the edit button. Tap on the pencil icon to start editing the message. Pressing the enter button will automatically update your original message with the edited content.
As per the leaker’s post onTheSpAndroid, you’re able to edit a message within 30 minutes of sending it. Additionally, Google will keep a version history of the edited message and let the recipient see the original unedited text.
It appears Google still has work left to finish before it rolls out the Edit option Google Messages. The feature is currently not working as expected, with the leaker noticing that his edited messages showed up as separate texts in a group RCS conversation. Also, apparently, editing a sent chat in Google Messages will require both parties to have the Edit option enabled.
AssembleDebug speculates that Google could roll out the ability to edit sent texts in Google Messages on the app’s beta channel by the end of February or early next month.
Note that the option to edit sent texts in Google Messages will only come to RCS conversations, not regular text messages. Despite being around for a few decades, SMS does not support editing sent text messages.
Google is working on several other improvements for Google Messages, including the ability toreact to a message with a double tapandGemini AI integrationto let you quickly draft messages, identify images, translate texts, and more. Google recentlystarted rolling out Screen Effectsto its messaging app as well.
We could see Google announce these features at MWC later this month or alongside the March 2024 Pixel Feature Drop.
