10 Google Messages features you should be using

Google Messages app is default on many Android devices, and it has quite a few nifty features to enhance the text messaging experience.

10 Google Messages features you should be using

1. Read and Send Text Messages From the Web

“Messages for Web” allows you to use the app from a web browser on your computer. This is a built-in feature that doesn’t require any hacky workarounds or third-party apps. All you have to do is go to “Device Pairing” from the menu in the Messages app on your phone. Then, you’ll scan the QR code that’s shown at messages.google.com/web on your PC.

2. Automatically Delete OTPs (One-Time Passwords)

One of the most common text messages you may receive is OTPs (one-time passwords). These are the codes that usually come with using two-factor authentication which you should be using. The Messages app can automatically clear out these messages for you.

3. Schedule Text Messages to Send Later

Forgetting to wish someone a happy birthday or to tell them something important at a specific time is a great way to get an egg on your face. Thankfully, the Messages app can help with that. You can simply write a text message at your convenience and then schedule it to be sent at the desired time.

4. Add Reactions to a Text Message

It’s true, text message reactions are not only for iMessage users. The Messages app allows you to long-press on a message and send off a quick reaction, too. You’ll see a few suggested emoji, but unlike your iPhone friends, you can also add any emoji you’d like.

5. Star Your Favorite Text Messages

Some messages are so funny or important that you may want to save them. Rather than searching or scrolling through hundreds of messages, the Messages app allows you to “star” those messages to easily find them later on.

6. Pin Conversations to the Top

It’s easy for the conversation list to get messy if you chat with a lot of people. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could keep some conversations permanently at the top? You can do that very thing by pinning conversations.

7. Hear Text Messages Read Out Loud

This is not technically a Messages-only feature, but it does work particularly well with the Messages app. You can make Google Assistant read text messages you receive by simply saying, “Read my messages.”

8. Share Your Location in a Text Message

The rigamarole of telling someone where you are and when you’ll arrive somewhere can be completely avoided, thanks to smartphones. The Messages app has a built-in Google Maps feature that allows you to quickly send your location to someone.

9. Block Text Messages

Whether it’s spam or unwanted messages from someone you know, we all get annoying text messages (SMS) from time to time. The good news is it’s extremely simple to block text messages with the Messages app.

10. Enable RCS Features

RCS is the long-awaited successor to SMS, and it’s available on the majority of Android devices nowadays. In short, RCS makes text messaging more like instant messaging. You can see when someone has read your message, it shows when someone is typing, and media can be shared at much higher quality, among other things.