Google Messages Could Soon Let You Delete Other People's Messages, and I Can't Wait to Pretend My Most Embarrassing Jokes Never Existed.
Get rid of those nightly liturgies.
Google Messages is set to incorporate a new feature that will allow users to "unsend" messages in its upcoming update. Until now, it was only possible to delete messages from one's own device, but a future version will enable the option to delete messages for other users as well.
An analysis of the underlying code has revealed that users will have two alternatives when deleting a message: the existing option to "Delete for me" and a new option titled "Delete for everyone." This feature, which brings Google Messages closer to other messaging apps like WhatsApp and Instagram, allows deleted RCS messages to become invisible to the recipients as well.
Unlike competing platforms, Google Messages will actively notify recipients when a message has been deleted. The implementation of this function is in line with the RCS Universal profile v2.7 and has been identified in version 20250131_02_RC00 of Google Messages, which has not yet been officially released.
Google's messaging app holds a significant place within the Android ecosystem, especially after being designated as the default messaging app on Samsung Galaxy phones. With increasing competition in the market, it is vital for Google Messages to continue integrating features that meet user expectations. Currently, WhatsApp remains the most popular messaging app, with over two billion users worldwide, although Google Messages has more than one billion RCS-enabled users.
Despite the new functionality being highly likely to be launched in the next version of Google Messages, a specific release date has not yet been defined, so details may vary.
