Google Messages is preparing to support message deletion following the latest RCS standard update. Back in June 2024, the GSMA Association, which oversees Rich Communication Services (RCS), finalized Universal Profile 2.7. One of the biggest changes includes the ability to delete a sent message for both the sender and the recipient.
How Message Deletion Works
Currently, when you delete a message in Google Messages, it only removes it from your device. The recipient can still see the message. However, with this update, users will get two options:
- “Delete for me” ā Removes the message from your chat only.
- “Delete for everyone” ā Erases the message from both the senderās and recipientās chat.
For this feature to work, all users in the conversation must have the latest version of Google Messages. If someone is using an older version, they may still see the deleted message.
How Deleted Messages Will Appear
When a message is deleted, Google Messages will show a note in the chat:
- āYou deleted a messageā (for the sender)
- āMessage deleted by its authorā (for the recipient)
- āSender attempted to delete a messageā (if deletion is not fully successful)
Other New RCS Features
Universal Profile 2.7 also introduces:
Replies and Reactions: Instead of manually converting reactions between Android and iOS, the system will now support reactions natively, including custom emoji reactions.
Inline/Threaded Replies: Users can now respond to specific messages in a chat, making conversations easier to follow.
Undo Send: If you send a message by mistake, youāll have a short window to undo it before it gets delivered.
Message Editing: Users will be able to edit messages after sending them, improving clarity and fixing mistakes.
When Will This Feature Roll Out?
The latest beta version (20250131_02_RC00) of Google Messages includes code for these features, but thereās no official release date yet. It may roll out in a future update, so keep your app up to date to get these new RCS capabilities.
