Like Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp, Google now offers secure messaging.
Google has always been interested in messaging. And after trying his luck with Google Talk, Hangouts, then Allo, it is today with the Google Messages application that the Mountain View firm wants to find a place for itself.
As per WP kaka, Google Messages is the client that manages SMS and MMS by default on Android. However, the app also supports a protocol called RCS which is comparable to iMessage.
In essence, when two smartphones support this protocol, they can exchange RCS messages instead of traditional SMS. And if this protocol allows Google Messages to position itself as a messaging service, it’s because it supports features similar to those found on apps like iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram.
However, in terms of security, Google Messages was not yet equal to its competition, since there was no end-to-end encryption. But Google has remedied this by developing this feature in its application.
At the end of 2020, the Mountain View firm announced the beta tests of end-to-end encryption on Google Messages. And today, the feature is finally out of beta. Thanks to end-to-end encryption, the contents of messages are unreadable as they pass through the servers.
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“End-to-end encryption on the Messages app helps keep your chats more secure while sending, so no one can read the content of your messages as they move between your phone and the person’s phone.” who you send a message, ” reads the description of a YouTube video announcing the arrival of this feature.
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To tell the user that their message will be end-to-end encrypted, Google places a small padlock icon on the send button. Indeed, for this encryption to be possible, it must also be supported on the recipient’s smartphone.
In any case, Google is launching this new feature at a time when secure messaging services (like Telegram or Signal) are on the rise. Earlier this year, the scandal caused by the changes to WhatsApp’s terms of service prompted many users to turn to other alternatives (which also offer end-to-end encryption).
Google Messages: a new star system so you don’t get lost in conversations
Google has also just announced another novelty for Google Messages. Now you have the option to pin the important messages of a conversation with a little star. This allows you to quickly find that important content when you need it.
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“With tons of messages from family, friends, colleagues and others, it’s easy to lose information. Now you can put a star on a message in your Messages app to keep track of what’s important and easily find it later without scrolling through all your conversations, ” says Fiona Lee, program manager at Google.
