Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google may be working on a new feature for the Google Messages app.
- Code within a beta version of the Google Messages app suggests Google may allow users to edit their messages.
From UI changes to the inclusion of HDR, Google has been making quite a few adjustments to its Google Messages app recently. And it looks like there could still be more to come, as strings of code suggest the app may get a sent text editing feature.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
According to TheSpAndroid, the beta version of the Google Messages app that was released in the last week of November contains hints of a message editing feature. The APK teardown revealed four flags that included:
- bugle.enable_edit_ui
- bugle.load_edit_history
- bugle.process_outgoing_edits
- bugle.process_incoming_edits
Going down the list, it appears the first flag suggests there would be a UI for the editing feature. The next flag appears to refer to having the ability to bring up a history of edits. The third and fourth flags seem to deal with processing edits for the user and the recipient.
While there’s no guarantee that Google will bring the feature to Messages, it would be a welcomed addition to the app. Especially considering that Messages would be playing catch up with other messaging apps that already offer the feature, like WhatsApp.