Google Messages isn’t one of those widely popular Google apps with more than 10 billion downloads on the Play Store. It has a healthy user base, just not as large as many other Google apps.
For casual users, Google Messages is still the best way to text on Android. However, many people, mostly power users, rightly disagree because some important features are still missing from the app.
While it’s nearly impossible to implement everything every user wants, Google Messages will appeal to more people if it adds what the majority of users want.
I have made it easier for Google. I have tracked some of the exciting features users have been asking the company to introduce in the Google Messages app.
Here are the useful features users have been asking for in Google Messages for a long time, which Google has continued to ignore.
Bulk forwarding of multiple messages at once
Google Messages currently allows users to copy multiple messages in a single thread. To do so, you’ll select the messages and tap the copy button at the top.
On top of this, many users on Reddit requested the ability to forward multiple messages in bulk at once. As things stand right now, users can forward only one message at a time.
To forward a message, select the message and then tap the three-dot option in the upper-right corner, and click the Forward option.
When you select multiple messages, the three-dot menu automatically disappears. So far, there has been no evidence that points to Google actively working on this feature.
If the company wants to introduce the feature, it should add a dedicated Forward button at the top instead of including it in the three-dot menu.
However, I haven’t kept my hopes up for this one because I don’t have any reason to.
Trash folder
Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police | Damir Khabirov / Shutterstock
A trash icon for Google Messages should serve the same purpose as the one on desktop operating systems, or at least that’s how users want it to be.
Instead of permanently deleting messages, Google Messages will move them to the Trash folder if the feature becomes a reality.
This way, users should be able to restore the messages they have accidentally deleted.
The Trash folder is a widely requested feature across several subreddits. Interestingly, evidence suggests that Google started working on it at some point, but it hasn’t materialized yet.
While this has a better chance of arriving on the Google Messages app than the bulk forwarding, nothing is set in stone at this moment.
The company may change its plan and not cancel the Trash folder feature altogether if it hasn’t already.
Send payments to a contact
Back in the day, Google Messages offered a Google Pay integration to send payments to contacts. But that is now a part of history.
Google removed the feature from Google Messages sometime in 2020. The company didn’t explain in detail why it axed the integration, but Google’s support page suggests that users didn’t like the removal.
Users on Reddit share the same sentiment. Many of them want the feature back.
However, this will be a bit tricky to bring back because Google has discontinued the Google Pay app in many regions, including the USA.
The payment feature now lives in the Google Wallet app, which currently doesn’t support peer-to-peer payments, unlike the Google Pay app and Samsung Wallet.
If Google is indeed interested in adding the payment option back to Google Messages, it will have to address those issues first.
It’ll be easier to bring back payments to Google Messages in regions where Google Pay still exists as a standalone app, like in India.
Support for Polls
RCS (Rich Communication Services) support is one of the best features in Google Messages, but it still needs a lot of work to become perfect.
In addition to improvements in reliability, many users on Reddit wanted Google to add the ability to create polls. Support for Polls makes more sense in RCS group messaging in the Google Messages app.
This shouldn’t be hard to do, because the Google Chat app already supports Polls. However, unlike its chat app, Google Messages needs to support it natively, as it doesn’t support built-in apps.
This will make RCS group chats in Google Messages more engaging, but we don’t have any evidence to believe that Google is interested in this. Hopefully, this will change in the future.
Chat backgrounds
Chat backgrounds are fun, as they add more personality to your threads. This is already available on other popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp.
Users on Reddit want the same feature in the Google Messages app.
If Google plans to introduce this to Google Messages in the future, I would love to be able to choose backgrounds from my gallery. It should also support solid colors and gradients.
If not for regular text messages, this would make perfect sense for RCS chats.
However, as with many other feature requests, there is no solid reason to believe that the Mountain View tech is working on it. I remain hopeful about this one, though.
Visual separation of pinned chats
Pinning is a handy feature in the Google Messages app. It lets you keep all your important messages fixed at the top so that they don’t get buried as new messages arrive.
However, the biggest issue with Google Messages’ pinning feature is that there is no strong visual separation other than the pin icon.
This makes it a little hard to spot what’s pinned and what’s not. Users on Reddit want it fixed.
I’d hate to see a divider line, though. Instead, I want Google to use italics for pinned messages if ever it wants to add this to Google Messages.
If this is too much effort, the easiest way to fix it is to make the size of the pin icon bigger and give it a solid, high-contrast color. A solid color that adapts to your phone’s current theme will be even better.
However, without signs of progress from Google, this feature request remains a pipe dream. I’d love to see this come true.
Google Messages gets the basics right, but that’s not enough for everyone
Google Messages nails the basics. It offers all the features you would expect to get in a seamless messaging experience, and a few extras.
It may be enough for casual users of Messages, but the feature requests clearly show that there are many users who want more. Many of these requests are genuinely great ideas.
I would love to see them on Google Messages sooner rather than later. In addition to all of that, I also want the company to fix issues with existing features, including RCS, OTP notifications, and many more.
Time will tell whether Google brings any of these features to its Messages app. As an admirer of the company, I want to see it listen to genuine feedback and act on it.
I want Google Messages to evolve from a champion of basics into something truly powerful. I’m sure fans want the same from the app.
