Ever since WhatsApp ushered in the era of free text messaging, we’ve all been guilty of ignoring a text message or two. Even those of us who don’t explicitly ignore messages still delay responding for some mystical and unknown reason. We could reply straight away but sometimes we just don’t. Of itself this isn’t a major problem or something to worry about; the real problem is when we forget to get back to those messages like we originally told ourselves we would.
Although not as popular, Google Messages has proven itself to be quite the capable free alternative to WhatsApp. Google’s messaging app shares many of WhatsApp’s best features and even packs in a fair bit of Google ingenuity that gives it the edge over the Facebook-owned messaging platform.
Google’s email service, Gmail, is packed full of ideas and if you’ve ever forgotten to check your Google Messages, you’ll know that Gmail reminds you about messages you haven’t dealt with. It now looks like this feature, or at least one similar to it, is coming to Android Google Messages too.
Google Messages will remind to reply to text messages you’ve forgotten about
A report by XDA Developers indicates that Google is testing SMS Reminders in Google Messages. The discovery was made by an XDA-recognized developer called Quinny899 when he was looking around some of the hidden features Google had packed into the app. Sometimes, Google tests new features on select users by adding the code to the app but disabling it for everybody else, and this is how Quinny899 stumbled upon the Messages feature.
The feature is simple enough but gives your text messages a solid email feature. With the numbers of text messages we receive every day climbing steadily, it becomes easier and easier for them to slip through the cracks. Nobody likes to be ignored and it is just as awkward when somebody asks you if you received the SMS they sent you. This feature is designed to stop that happening.
The feature works by adding a new button to the Android system notification you get when you receive an SMS on Google Messages. As well as “Mark as Read” and “Reply” Messages users will now find “Remind Me in 1 HR”. This gives you a little bump to deal with the message an hour after it landed in your inbox. There is no way to change the amount of time for the reminder, but Google may add that to the feature later on if it even implements the feature at all.
So it looks like Google is adding a Gmail feature to Messages to try and help you remember to text your friends back. WhatsApp doesn’t have this feature, but is it enough to make you switch?
