Google is reportedly working on a new feature for its Messages app that would allow users to edit sent text messages, similar to Apple’s iMessage and Meta’s WhatsApp.
According to a report from TheSpAndroid, the latest version of the Google Messages beta app, which was released last month, hints that the search giant is working on adding message editing support to the default Android chat app.
The .apk file of Google Messages reveals that four new code strings have been added to Google Messages codebase:
bugle.enable_edit_ui
bugle.load_edit_history
bugle.process_outgoing_edits
bugle.process_incoming_edits
The first line of code suggests that there will be a user interface (UI) to edit the messages on an Android device, while the second line shows that it will show a history of message edits from the database.
Further, the third and fourth lines of codes show the processing of the outgoing (edited) message, and the processing of the incoming (edited) message for the recipient. At present, enabling the new four flags reportedly doesn’t do anything.
In addition, TheSpAndroid has found a code snippet “original_rcs_messages_id” suggesting that message editing could integrate with the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging protocol.
While iMessage and WhatsApp allow for message editing within two minutes and fifteen minutes, respectively, after hitting the send button, it is still unclear if messages sent using Google Messages will have a time limit for message adjustments.
Moreover, it is unsure if the recipient of the message will be able to view the edit history. Both iMessage and WhatsApp allow users to delete sent messages, but it remains uncertain if Google is working on a similar feature.
Currently, there is no official confirmation about the message editing feature from Google. Also, it’s unclear if the feature will continue to be developed or be made available for all users in the near future or might never be released.
