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Discord is an invite-only online messaging platform where you can create a place to hang out and chat with friends or a dedicated fan community, like gaming or podcasts. Rather than trying to make your own messaging program from scratch, it's much easier to set up a Discord server and share the link with other users. The main goal here is to bring people together without jumping through a bunch of hoops and learning curves. In this guide, we'll go over how to quickly set up a Discord server and a few of the customization options it has to offer.
Google's old-school navigation drawer for Messages is now available for some beta users
Along with Photos integration for avoiding MMS
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Google spent the bulk of last year overhauling the design of both Android and all of its associated apps, and for the most part, it's been a success. Material You brings simplified menus and straightforward methods for accessing all the tools and options in an app while adding splashes of colors pulled directly from your wallpaper. Messages got its own redesign last fall, but it seems like Google is bringing a throwback design to one of its many, many messaging services.
Google's ready for you to try out its fix for the (second) worst thing about messaging with iPhones
Some common ground with those blue bubble chatters
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Aside from those arguments about green and blue bubbles, the most frustrating thing when texting someone with an iPhone comes down to reactions. Giving an incoming message a heart or a quick thumbs-up is a standard part of modern messaging, but up until now, iPhone reactions have resulted in Android users receiving awkward SMS descriptions. Google promised to fix this by literally translating iMessage reactions into something recognizable on Android, and that update is finally ready for a larger audience.
Your Android phone now properly displays iMessage reactions — if you use Google Messages
The Messages beta is bridging the gap between team blue bubble and team green bubble
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Google Messages received iMessage-like reactions for RCS chats in 2020, but the solution is unsatisfactory for anyone who regularly converses with iPhone-wielding friends and family. iMessage allows users to react to regular SMS messages with emoji and likes, but those will only be displayed correctly for recipients also using iMessage. The rest of us will get overly descriptive automated text messages like "[Contact] liked [message]" and such, quickly polluting otherwise clean group chats and pestering you with individual notifications for each reaction.
Google's Pixel 6 might play interpreter on your next vacation
Old and new features spotted together under a new Live Translation name
One of the rumored features the upcoming Pixel 6 and 6 Pro would have was improved translation performance. At the time, we didn't actually know it would be a heavily marketed feature; The Verge was merely shown a demo that showed a French to English translation via Live Captions. But according to the folks at XDA Developers, there's more to it than that, and we can anticipate a new branded Live Translate feature to debut with the phone, building on the existing translation systems and features in the Google Translate app, Lens, and Assistant, but with deeper integrations.
Google Messages is getting a streamlined new attachments UI
The redesign is currently rolling out to some beta users
Google has been experimenting with various different approaches for attachments, emoji, gifs, and stickers in its SMS app in recent months. The latest incarnation is now being spotted in the beta version of Messages, replacing the blocky UI with more colorful and simplistic circular buttons.
A couple weeks back, Google announced that we'd be able to "star" messages in the Google Messages app to better keep track of important ones — you know, things like addresses, Wi-Fi passwords, or instructions. Though Google gave the feature fanfare at the time, it wasn't actually available. But reports indicate it has started rolling out for those using the Google Messages beta.
Google Messages now lets you adjust the font size using pinch to zoom
Because you shouldn't struggle to decipher your texts
Google is constantly improving its text messaging app with new features. It recently got a bunch of enhancements, such as the ability to automatically declutter your inbox and send encrypted RCS messages. These are significant improvements, but there's one simple yet essential feature that has been missing from the app for a while: the ability to pinch to zoom in your conversations. Thankfully, the feature is now available in the app's latest version.
Pinned conversations are starting to arrive in Google Messages
Keep your friends and family above all those two-factor authentication codes
Google has spent the last decade trying to get messaging right, but it seems its dedication to RCS is finally paying off. Its Messages app has gotten really good lately, picking up end-to-end encryption and starred messages just this past week. It seems that another long-awaited tool is finally coming to Google's messaging service, as pinned conversations are appearing for users in the app.
Google Messages end-to-end encryption for RCS Chat is rolling out to everyone
For one-on-one conversations, not group chats
As part of today's big announcements from Google, the company snuck in a bit of a surprise: Separate from the embargo details we were provided, Google is also announcing that end-to-end encryption for Chat/RCS messages in Google Messages is now out of beta — at least, for one-on-one conversations.
Android Auto will finally let you choose dark mode as part of its biggest update in ages
Including changes to messaging, music apps, and more
Android Auto keeps your eyes on the road, all while mirroring the most essential parts of your phone. From maps to music and everything in between, Google's car-friendly interface has come a long way since its earliest days. Today, Android Auto is getting a whole slew of changes to help make your summer road trip even better.
Google Messages is making it easier to keep track of that address you always forget
Or phone number, email address, appointment, food order, lock combination...
With RCS, Google has positioned its Messages app to take on WhatsApp, Telegram, and any other online chat app aiming for communication domination. Although it has come a long way since its earliest days as Android's default SMS client, Messages is still missing a handful of features found in the competition. Thankfully, you can cross pinned conversations off the list today, as Google is adding starred messages to its app.
Google Messages is working to support Android 12's fun new themes
Get ready for a splash of color with your communications
One of the coolest changes in Android 12 so far is the new Material You dynamic theming system, which changes system colors to match your background in a way that's downright beautiful — or, at least, way less boring than before. Eventually, apps will take advantage of it too, but they'll need to be updated to accommodate it, and the first signs of such support are starting to appear in Google Messages.
T-Mobile wants to be the best carrier for Google and Pixel fans
Carrier outlines plans for tighter integration with Messages, Drive, YouTube TV, and more
In a press release issued today, T-Mobile outlined its plans for Android for the latter portion of this year. And those plans pretty much begin and end with the word "Google." The biggest of the deals is that Google's Messages app will now be the standard, default SMS and RCS platform for all T-Mobile Android phones. But there are plenty of other nuggets in the press release, too.
One-time password auto-delete in Google Messages is arriving in beta
New behavior spotted by a few users
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- A new post on Twitter sheds a bit more light on the app's settings. Screenshots show a new submenu called Message Organization with two options. When enabled, the first one automatically deletes current and future OTP messages after 24 hours to unclog your inbox. The second automatically categorizes messages, a feature we've also spotted recently.
Whether you're making an online purchase or simply trying to log into your account, you're most likely going to be asked to enter a one-time code sent to your mobile number via SMS. Since these messages are useless a few minutes after being received, they create unnecessary clutter in your texts, unless you manually bother to tidy up and delete them. Thankfully, Google has a solution for you with its Messages app, as it's working on a way to automatically scrap these texts for you.
Scheduling texts in Google Messages is officially rolling out for everyone
In case you don't want to wake friends with the latest meme in the middle of the night
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You can already schedule messages in Gmail and Telegram (among others), and now Google Messages is joining the club. The functionality showed up for a few people as part of an a/b test back in November 2020, and today, Google has announced that the feature will come to everyone using Messages on Android 7 and higher. The option replaces the long-press shortcut for sending an MMS with a subject.
Google is making a few Android experiments official today
Tired of Android 12 news? Here's some stuff you can actually get your hands on right now
Google is always working on improving its Android apps and the operating system itself, heavily relying on public a/b tests that appear on some people's phones but not on others. But every once in a while, the company takes the time to announce some features formally, and today is another one of those days. Google is making a whole slew of known tests and a few brand-new changes official.
Google Messages can suggest adding calendar events while you chat (APK Download)
Plus other smart actions too
Contextual suggestions in Google Messages aren't new. The app can already offer up stickers, Assistant recommendations, smart replies, and some actions while you're talking to your contacts, and it's that latter ability that seems to be expanding. Among the new actions, Messages can now propose adding a calendar event when you bring up a specific time and date during a chat.
Google's Messages app might be praised for bringing universal RCS messaging to the entire world, but recently, some folks aren't so happy with it. For the last month or two, some Messages users have had difficulty using the app at all, suffering blank screens, empty threads, and tedious delays when it does work, all paired with annoying "Messages is doing work in the background" notifications.
Google announced that end-to-end encryption was coming to its RCS messaging system last month. At the time, all we knew was that the rollout would begin soon via Google's Messages app beta. Based on our reader's reports, that rollout for end-to-end encryption has now started.