Google Messages can be an incredibly versatile messaging app, making it easy to start chats with friends, send group texts and make cheap international calls from your computer or smartphone. However, there are plenty of useful features built into Google Messages that most people don’t know about, making the already great app even better than it already is. Below are seven secrets about Google Messages you should know about. 7 Secrets About Google Messages You Didn’t Know
Secret 1: Use emojis
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In the world of text messages, emojis are king. It’s the easiest way to make your conversations more lively and fun. They’re also helpful when you can’t find the right words to say. A few emojis is all it takes to turn a boring text into something exciting and worth reading. With so many different ones to choose from, there’s an emoji for every situation. Secret 2: Send animated GIFs: Texting has never been so fun! With animated GIFs like Pepe or Trump face-palming for days, this little gem lets you add some personality to those boring texts with a single click.
Secret 2: Set custom ringtone, vibration pattern and LED colors
Setting a custom ringtone not only allows you to customize your message alerts, but it also helps you identify which messages are coming from different people. In order to set a custom ringtone, follow these steps:
1. Open the Settings menu and tap Notifications. 2. Tap on the Default notification sound under Sound. 3. Select the song or tone that you want as your default for all notifications, or select None if you prefer no sound at all. 4. Tap on the three-dot menu button in the top right corner and then select Ringtone, followed by tapping on your desired tone (or searching for it) and tapping OK.
Secret 3: Merge chat threads
Merge chat threads to keep your conversation in one place. If you’re thinking of starting a new thread, start by searching for the person you want to message. Once you find them, tap and hold on their name and then tap the Merge option. It might take a few seconds for your messages to merge (depending on how long your chat history is), but when it does, you should see all of the messages from both chats in one place.
Secret 4: Send photos
One of the best features about Google Messages is that you can send photos to other people for free. All you have to do is make sure your phone has a good quality camera and follow these steps:
1) Open up the message app on your phone. If you don’t see the icon in your app drawer, it may be hidden – try tapping on the hamburger menu in the top left corner of your screen or go through your list of apps until you find it.
2) Tap on Photo from the three icons that appear at the bottom of your screen.
3) Select a photo from your gallery or take one with your camera and tap Send.
Secret 5: Forward messages with ease
This is an incredible hidden feature. If you want to forward messages, just tap on the three dots in the top right-hand corner and select Forward. Now, all you have to do is tap on any message in your inbox and it will pop up with a list of people to forward it to. It even has a search bar for quickly finding the person you’re looking for. You can also attach a photo to your forwarded messages by tapping on the camera icon before you send. Secret 6: Turn off notifications: Did I mention how good Google Messages was? Well there’s one more killer feature that’s really worth mentioning – notifications! In Settings > Notifications, scroll down until you see Chat Notification settings and choose from None, Low (a few per day), Normal (updates as they happen) or High (the most updates). Secret 7: Video chat! With apps like Skype still popular for video chat calls over 3G or 4G connections, this might not be something that everyone knows about but with Hangouts installed alongside SMS and MMS functionality, it makes sense that you can use video chat too.
Secret 6: Drag & Drop images from outside the app
Drag and drop images from outside the app! This may not be a revolutionary idea for some, but it is still pretty awesome. I’m always on my phone, so it’s been really easy to grab pictures from my camera roll and add them to messages. Not only does this make conversations more engaging, but it also saves time in getting that perfect photo for a post or story without having to download an app. The drag-and-drop feature isn’t limited to pictures though, you can drag and drop other media types as well like GIFs, videos or music.
Secret 7: Pull files from Drive into conversations
You can share any file from your Drive with someone in a conversation by clicking on the attachment icon and choosing one of the files you have stored in Drive. If you want to attach more than one file, just keep clicking on the attachment icon and select them in succession.
Google Docs will also show up as an option when attaching files from Drive, which is handy if you’re working with someone who doesn’t have the same folder structure as you. Finally, there’s a More button at the bottom of every chat window that lets you access even more options for images, videos, contacts and other files.