Google Messages to Receive Major Privacy Upgrade – Here’s What You Need to Know

Google Messages is set to receive a significant privacy upgrade. Here's what you need to know about the upcoming changes.

Google Messages: Upcoming Privacy Features

Technology giant Google is set to enhance its messaging services with new privacy-focused features soon to be integrated into Google Messages.

Profile Visibility Control

An exploration of the latest Google Messages beta version code by Assemble Debug (via Android Authority) reveals these upcoming features. Although not yet active, they promise enhanced control over user profile visibility.

With these features enabled, users will have the option to conceal their profile picture, hide their name, or show only an abbreviated version. This enables users to control who can see their information, with options to reveal details to everyone they message, only to saved contacts, or to no one at all.

A Necessary Evolution in Messaging

As Apple and other companies increasingly adopt RCS messaging and move away from proprietary messaging apps to Google Messages, these new privacy options become increasingly crucial. They prevent users from unintentionally revealing themselves just by having a Google Messages profile.

This need is underscored by the earlier unveiled “Profile Discovery” feature, which allows public display of profiles to help identify the person behind an unknown number. Controlling this visibility is essential to avoid unintentional identity disclosure.

No Confirmed Launch Date

Although Google has not yet announced a release date for these new profile privacy features, it is encouraging to see the issue taken seriously. Hopefully, these features will become available to the public “sooner rather than later”.