{"id":879643,"date":"2025-12-21T23:28:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/what-google-messages-features-are-rolling-out-december-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T23:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:28:26","slug":"what-google-messages-features-are-rolling-out-december-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/what-google-messages-features-are-rolling-out-december-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"What Google Messages features are rolling out [December 2025]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure>\n<p>\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/12\/google-messages-name-cover.png?w=1600\" alt  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"><br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>Like most Google apps, Messages A\/B tests many features. However, it takes the RCS\/SMS client a rather long time to actually launch these capabilities in stable even after they are announced. From various reports, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.android.com\/google-messages\/\">Google itself<\/a>, and devices we\u2019ve checked, this is the current state of Messages.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update 12\/6<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Table of contents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-still-rolling-out-beta\" data-level=\"2\">Still rolling out (beta)<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-link-preview-redesign\" data-level=\"3\">Link preview redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-mentions-in-group-rcs-chats\" data-level=\"3\">@mentions in group RCS chats<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-mls-encryption\" data-level=\"3\">MLS encryption<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-read-receipts-redesign\" data-level=\"3\">Read receipts redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-recent-launches-stable\" data-level=\"2\">Recent launches (stable)<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-new-leave-unknown-group-chats\" data-level=\"3\">[New] Leave unknown group chats<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-new-image-viewer-redesign\" data-level=\"3\">[New] Image viewer redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-remix-with-nano-banana\" data-level=\"3\">Remix with Nano Banana<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-tweaked-camera-gallery-icon\" data-level=\"3\">Tweaked camera + gallery icon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-account-menu-redesign\" data-level=\"3\">Account menu redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-spam-link-detection\" data-level=\"3\">Spam link detection<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/9to5google.com\/#h-key-verifier\" data-level=\"3\">Key Verifier<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"h-still-rolling-out-beta\">Still rolling out (beta)<\/h2>\n<p>These are Messages features that Google announced or have been spotted in the wild by <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/apps\/testing\/com.google.android.apps.messaging\/join\">beta users<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-link-preview-redesign\">Link preview redesign<\/h3>\n<p>Link previews, including YouTube, are getting a new design that has a taller cover image. The page title is also larger with the domain accompanied by a favicon and more prominent background. However, Google has removed the article snippet in a downgrade to information density. The YouTube PiP is also back, but there\u2019s no way to open the full app.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/11\/28\/google-messages-link-previews\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-mentions-in-group-rcs-chats\">@mentions in group RCS chats<\/h3>\n<p>This lets you get a person\u2019s attention in group conversations even \u201cif their notifications are muted.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/11\/12\/google-messages-group-mentions\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"h-mls-encryption\">MLS encryption<\/h3>\n<p>Universal Profile 3.0 adds support for the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol that makes possible cross-platform (Android-iOS) RCS that is end-to-end encrypted (E2EE).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/07\/16\/google-messages-rcs-mls\/\">You can check<\/a> whether this is live for a conversation by long-pressing on a message and opening the redesigned Details page. The portion relevant to MLS is the \u201cEncryption Protocol\u201d section. Value \u201c0\u201d is the existing E2EE, while value \u201c1\u201d is the upcoming approach.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"h-read-receipts-redesign\">Read receipts redesign<\/h3>\n<p>Following the last redesign in early 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/11\/01\/google-messages-read-receipts-redesign-2024\/\">another revamp<\/a> places read receipts in a circle at the bottom-right corner of message bubbles (and images).You swipe left to see all timestamps and the end-to-end encryption status, while you swipe left to reply\/quote a message. This started rolling out in August 2024, with more people receiving it in November.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<table readabilityDataTable=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Ellipsis<\/td>\n<td>Sending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Single check with ring<\/td>\n<td>Sent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Double check with ring<\/td>\n<td>Delivered<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Double check solid circle<\/td>\n<td>Read<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/01\/25\/google-messages-read-receipts-bolder\/\">January 2025<\/a>, Google tweaked the design to make the circular background white. In no longer matching the bubble color, the read receipts stand out a great deal more. <\/p>\n<p>L-R: <em>Current, redesign, latest<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2 id=\"h-recent-launches-stable\">Recent launches (stable)<\/h2>\n<h3 id=\"h-new-leave-unknown-group-chats\">[New] Leave unknown group chats<\/h3>\n<p>Google will let you quickly \u201cLeave group\u201d when you\u2019re invited by an unknown number, with options to Block and Report. This alert card above the text field explains how \u201cUnknown sender added you\u201d with the number prominently listed followed by how many people are in the conversation. Messages will note if anybody you know is part of the thread.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{\"imageId\":\"6948ccd928dd3\"}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\"  alt data-height=\"1250\" data-id=\"697306\" data-link=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/?attachment_id=697306\" data-url=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/12\/Google-Messages-leave-group-chats.jpg?quality=82&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" data-width=\"2500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/12\/Google-Messages-leave-group-chats.jpg?ssl=1\" data-amp-layout=\"responsive\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h3 id=\"h-new-image-viewer-redesign\">[New] Image viewer redesign<\/h3>\n<p>After first <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/06\/06\/google-messages-material-3-expressive-more\/\">testing in June<\/a>, Google has rolled out a redesign of the Messages image viewer. This fullscreen interface features a blurred background and the ability to swipe left\/right. Your photo or video is at the center, with a tap opening the full size. Various options are in the top-right corner, while the bottom row shows comments and frequent emojis.<\/p>\n<p>Google has also updated how images are grouped together in the conversation view.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/12\/04\/google-messages-photo-viewer-redesign\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-remix-with-nano-banana\">Remix with Nano Banana<\/h3>\n<p>When you long-press on an image in your conversation or select\/take a new one to send, there will be a <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/11\/11\/google-messages-remix-nano-banana\/\">\u201cRemix\u201d button<\/a> in the bottom-left corner. This lets you transform it with a prompt using the Nano Banana model.<\/p>\n<p>RCS must be enabled, with an initial rollout in English to: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States. Google says there\u2019s a \u201cdaily limit of image generations per user.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/11\/19\/google-messages-remix-nano-banana\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-tweaked-camera-gallery-icon\">Tweaked camera + gallery icon<\/h3>\n<p>A small tweak sees the gallery icon in the text field drop the corner camera. There are no changes to the combined viewfinder and gallery.<\/p>\n<p><em>Old vs. new<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Google Messages now has a fullscreen account menu to access Settings, Your profile, Archived, Spam &#038; blocked, Mark all as read, and Device pairing. The previous overlay design allowed you to see the background, with the app now fully Material 3 Expressive.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/10\/17\/google-messages-account-menu\/\">More<\/a>   <\/p>\n<p><em>Old vs. new<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-spam-link-detection\">Spam link detection<\/h3>\n<p>If a message is suspected to be spam, Google will \u201cwarn you when you click on any links within it and stop you from visiting the potentially harmful website.\u201d Available globally, you have the option to mark the message as \u201cnot spam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/10\/15\/google-messages-key-verifier-launch\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{\"imageId\":\"6948ccd92c6df\"}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\"  alt data-height=\"562\" data-id=\"692513\" data-link=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/10\/15\/google-messages-key-verifier-launch\/google-messages-link-blocked\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/Google-Messages-Link-Blocked.webp?w=1000\" data-width=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/Google-Messages-Link-Blocked.webp?ssl=1\" data-amp-layout=\"responsive\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h3 id=\"h-key-verifier\">Key Verifier<\/h3>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/05\/13\/key-verifier-will-offer-advanced-protection-against-google-messages-scams\/\">previewed in May,<\/a> Key Verifier will \u201chelp protect you from scammers who try to impersonate someone you know\u201d in Google Messages. This tool lets you \u201cverify the identity of the other party through public encryption keys.\u201d These contact keys take the form of a QR code that can also be accessed via the Google Contacts app.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For example, if an attacker gains access to a friend\u2019s phone number and uses it on another device to send you a message \u2013 which can happen as a result of a SIM swap attack \u2013 their contact\u2019s verification status will be marked as no longer verified in the Google Contacts app, suggesting your friend\u2019s account may be compromised or has been changed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In Messages, go to the Details page and tap Verify encryption to get \u201cYour QR code\u201d or \u201cScan contact\u2019s QR code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/10\/15\/google-messages-key-verifier-launch\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/09\/03\/google-messages-gallery-shortcut\/\">Standalone gallery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/08\/20\/google-messages-homepage-redesign\/\">Material<\/a> 3 Expressive <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/08\/26\/google-messages-chat-redesign\/\">redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/08\/13\/google-messages-sensitive-content-warnings-2\/\">Sensitive Content Warnings<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/07\/29\/google-messages-details-redesign\/\">Details page redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/06\/18\/google-messages-delete-everyone-more\/\">Custom group chat icons<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/06\/18\/google-messages-delete-everyone-more\/\">Delete for everyone<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/06\/18\/google-messages-delete-everyone-more\/\">Snooze notifications<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/05\/28\/google-messages-new-chat-rcs\/\">RCS status in updated \u2018New chat\u2019 contacts list<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/06\/05\/google-messages-gallery-camera-redesign-wide\/\">Gallery + camera redesign with \u2018Original quality\u2019 sending<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/04\/12\/google-messages-text-field-limit\/\">Expanded text field limit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/03\/04\/find-my-device-people-sharing\/\">Real-time<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/security.googleblog.com\/2025\/05\/whats-new-in-android-security-privacy-2025.html\">expanded Scam Detection<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/04\/30\/google-messages-unsubscribe\/\">Unsubscribe for SMS and RCS spam<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/11\/14\/google-messages-double-tap-heart\/\">Double tap to thumbs up<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/03\/25\/google-messages-text-field-redesign-2025\/\">Text field redesign 2025<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/03\/11\/google-messages-media-receiving\/\">Improved media receiving performance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/01\/13\/google-messages-contact-photos-profile-sharing\/\">Custom profile pictures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/12\/10\/google-messages-your-profile\/\">\u2018Your profile\u2019 name and photo settings<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/10\/08\/google-messages-magic-rewrite\/\">Magic Rewrite<\/a>\u201d button<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/07\/24\/google-messages-face-filters\/\">Camera face filters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/09\/12\/google-messages-small-gemini\/\">Gemini double FAB<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/09\/09\/google-messages-rcs-editing-wider\/\">RCS message editing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/08\/25\/google-messages-group-search\/\">Group search in new conversations screen<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/08\/23\/pixel-9-google-messages-rcs-transfer\/\">Full RCS Messages transfer on Pixel 9<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/08\/01\/google-messages-rcs-images-redesign\/\">RCS photo with text caption redesign<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/07\/01\/google-messages-share-redesign\/\">New \u201cSelect recipients\u201d conversation picker<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/06\/26\/google-messages-expressive-animations\/\">Show expressive animations<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/06\/24\/google-messages-contact-photos\/\">Larger contact photos<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/05\/06\/google-messages-recorder-redesign-voice-moods\/\">Voice recorder redesign<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/05\/29\/google-messages-noise-cancellation\/\">noise cancellation<\/a> + Voice Moods<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/05\/22\/google-messages-single-line-text-field\/\">Single-line text field<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/05\/08\/google-messages-selfie-gif\/\">Selfie GIF<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/04\/26\/google-messages-custom-bubbles-gallery\/\">Custom Bubbles and backgrounds<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/03\/21\/google-messages-contact-photos-profile\/\">Profiles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/03\/12\/google-messages-reaction-effects\/\">Reaction Effects<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/02\/28\/google-messages-contacts-page\/\">Revamped Contact Details page\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2024\/01\/26\/google-messages-photomoji-rolling-out\/\">Photomoji<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2023\/12\/21\/google-messages-magic-compose\/\">Magic Compose<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2023\/12\/18\/google-messages-account-device-pairing\/\">Google Account Device pairing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/9to5google.com\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/about\/#affiliate\">More.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4pesEfH\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/750-x-150.jpg?quality=82&#038;strip=all&#038;w=700\" alt width=\"700\" height=\"140\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p> Abner Li<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2025\/12\/06\/google-messages-features\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like most Google apps, Messages A\/B tests many features. However, it takes the RCS\/SMS client a rather long time to actually launch these capabilities in stable even after they are announced. From various reports, Google itself, and devices we\u2019ve checked, this is the current state of Messages. Update 12\/6: Table of contents Still rolling out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":879644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[496,3231],"tags":[5220,5648],"class_list":{"0":"post-879643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-google","8":"category-messages","9":"tag-google","10":"tag-messages"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}