Google Messages has quietly become the only texting app most Android owners will ever see. Samsung retired its own Samsung Messages app in the US in July 2026, folding its users into Google's app for good. That makes Google Messages the default on practically every Android phone sold today, from Pixels to Galaxy devices, which is reason enough to actually open its settings menu instead of leaving everything on factory defaults.
A handful of toggles, buried a few taps deep, control how much the app tracks, shows and hands over to Google's AI.
Stop one-time codes from sitting in your inbox
Verification codes sent over SMS or RCS don't disappear once you've used them. They sit in the thread as a record of which accounts and services are tied to your number, even after they expire. Google Messages can clear that automatically: go to Messages settings, then Message organization, and switch on "Auto-delete OTPs after 24 hours." It's a one-time setup that keeps cleaning up after itself.
Google has wired its Gemini assistant into Messages, and not everyone wants an AI button sitting in the compose bar. There's no dedicated privacy control for Gemini's connected apps yet, but you can at least hide the button: Messages settings, then "Gemini in Messages," then switch off "Show Gemini button." It won't change what data Gemini can see, only what you have to look at.
For people who'd rather Messages stop guessing at replies and stickers altogether, the Suggestions & Actions menu has separate switches for Suggestions, Suggested stickers, Actions and Nudges. Turning them off strips out most of the app's automated guesswork.
Set up swipe gestures your way
By default, swiping a conversation left or right does the same thing in both directions, which catches a lot of people off guard. Messages settings has a Swipe actions menu where left and right swipes can be set independently to Archive, Trash, Mark as read or unread, or switched off entirely. A long-press on any conversation also pulls up quick options for Reply, Forward, Copy, Star, Delete and Info, and swiping within an open chat reveals timestamps and encryption status.
Keep message previews off the lock screen
Messages can show full previews in notification pop-ups and on a locked screen, which is awkward in a car or on a crowded train. Under Messages settings, then Notifications, setting "Notification pop-up style" to "Brief pop-up" and "Show or hide content when locked" to "Hide when locked" cuts down on what a passerby can read. These options vary by phone. Samsung devices carry them, Pixels don't.
On Android Auto, turning off auto-read stops the assistant from reading incoming texts aloud to anyone in the car.
The last toggle worth knowing about may not last much longer. Google is pushing Android toward RCS as the default, phasing out plain SMS and MMS, and a coming update is expected to drop the option to force SMS-only messaging for individual contacts. Turning off RCS read indicators, found in the same settings menu, is the simpler workaround for anyone who doesn't want contacts seeing when a message has been read.
SDFiled by The Software Desk
Apps, platforms, operating system releases, security fixes and the features arriving in them.
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