Google Messages, the default messaging app on Android phones, could soon get new features that will let you unsend texts like third-party messengers. The unsend functionality is reportedly under testing and will be available for chats over RCS protocol, which succeeds traditional SMS with improved support for multimedia, emoji, reactions, etc.
Presently, when you delete a message, it is only removed from your device without impacting other participants in the chat. Now, Google appears to be testing a new “delete for everyone” functionality for conversations that will delete messages for all parties, similar to instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. 9to5Google spotted references to the under-development functionality, suggesting it might be available for a wider audience to benefit from — though the exact timeline of remains unknown.
A deleted message will be replaced by remarks indicating it has been deleted. Similar to other apps, the option to delete messages may be limited to a short period — likely of a few minutes — until the message could be deleted for other parties too.
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The functionality to delete messages for everyone in the chat is in compliance with the GSM Association’s guidelines. The RCS Universal Profile version 2.7 dictates all supporting devices and apps must be able to edit, delete, and recall messages.
Might work with Apple’s Messages app
While Google has been pushing for a richer texting experience through its various RCS-enabled chat apps for several years now, Apple recently joined the outfit too after years of resisting it. With iOS 18, iPhones and iPads with cellular connectivity have optional support for RCS chats in the Messages app. RCS on iOS works alongside Apple’s own iMessage protocol and offers similar functionality when messaging those with Android devices. Notably, while iMessage already offers an “Undo send” functionality among Apple uses, a similar functionality has yet to be made available for RCS.
Since RCS is only active when enabled for everyone in the chat, Android users may not be able to utilize this functionality until Apple implements it at its end too. Similarly, those with older versions of Google Messages may still be able to see the deleted messages, until Google insistently reminds everyone to update the app.
As we noted above, the feature is currently being tested and has yet to be rolled out, so the exact availability is unclear. Besides this functionality, Google has been upgrading the experience with the app by allowing sending of high-quality images in chats, improving cloud backup and restore functions, and even testing end-to-end encryption in conversations with other RCS-compliant apps such as Samsung Messages.
