- Live-location sharing is heading to Google Messages on Android
- It's a feature that other messaging apps have offered for some time
- There's also an upcoming tweak to how group chats are started
Google Messages has been picking up quite a few useful upgrades recently, and there are signs that two more are on the way: live location sharing to let other people know where you are, and an easier way to start group chats.
First up, live location sharing. This was actually spotted in hidden code last year, but as Android Authority reports, the feature is now more prominent inside the Android app – though it's still not actually live yet for users.
The Android Authority team managed to enable the feature with a little bit of code hacking, so we can all take a look at how it works. You'll be able to control how long your location is shared for, and the contacts that are able to see it – and there will be a persistent notification inside chats if you're currently broadcasting your whereabouts.
There also seems to be some integration with the Find Hub on Android here as well, though locations can also be viewed through a web browser. It shouldn't be too long now before Google decides to push this out to everyone.
Starting group chats
Next up, we have a smaller tweak coming to group chats, and again we're indebted to Android Authority for spotting the change. This seems to be something that's currently being tested in the beta version of Google Messages.
The refreshed workflow brings up a multiple contact picker when you press the Start chat button down in the lower right corner of the main conversation list – so it's a little easier to get a new group chat up and running.
You can still just select a single contact and start a one-to-one chat, but starting up a group chat now takes one tap less: you can start picking several contacts straight away, without having to tap the Create group button, as you do now. It's a tweak that could well start rolling out more widely very soon.
With iPhones now supporting the RCS standard that Google Message implements, and plenty of updates arriving for the app too, Google Messages is fast becoming one of the most capable and important apps that Google develops.
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