Maybe you made a typo — or, worse, hit send on a regrettable “drunk text.”
Google Messages users can now stop hangxiety before it starts thanks to a new — and long-awaited — feature that un-sends a text.
Similar to the iMessage function that allows users to quickly unsend a text shortly after its been sent, Google Messages is launching a deletion feature that will grant texters the opportunity to delete a message on their phone and the recipient’s, according to Android Authority.
The catch, however, is that the message can only be remotely erased for 15 minutes after pressing send.
“Until now, deleting something you sent or received in Messages only deletes the content for you,” writes Android Police.
“The original sender of the former and recipients of what you sent will still retain a copy of what you’re deleting.”
But, soon, the function will give users an option to either “delete for me” or “delete for everyone,” the latter meaning the the message will also be removed from the recipient’s device — although it’s yet to be determined when exactly the feature will go live.
The new tool is the latest innovation with RCS, short for Rich Communication Services, which offer a wider array of features when messaging depending on the carrier.
Unlike traditional SMS, RCS messaging will indicate when a text is delivered or even read and includes the ability to send high resolution media — which means no more grainy pictures and videos sent between Androids and iPhones.
Apple recently added RCS messaging on iPhones after years of ridicule from rival companies that called on the tech giant to update texting features.
Apple also announced that it has end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging in the works to protect users’ texts.
“End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross-industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA,” Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer told The Verge.
“We will add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates.”
The announcement comes after stark warnings from the FBI to stop using non-encrypted messaging methods like SMS after hackers breached telecom networks.
This month, the agency also cautioned people to delete scam texts amid a rise in “smishing,” in which cybercriminals target Android and iPhone users with malicious links in an attempt to steal their data and credentials.
