What you need to know
- Google appears to be prepping a new Google Messages feature that will let you delete RCS chats remotely.
- The feature will only work on newer devices updated to support the latest RCS Universal Profile.
- You'll be able to delete RCS chats for everyone within 15 minutes after originally sending the message.
Google Messages looks poised to borrow a key iMessage feature in a future update: deleting RCS chats for everyone. Currently, if you delete an RCS chat in Google Messages, it'll only remove it from your device. Anyone else that has already received the message will keep it, which isn't good enough for awkward texting mishaps. This might be changing soon, as Android Authority has discovered what could be the user-interface for remote chat deletion in a Google Messages beta.
Android Authority found the UI by scouring through the messages.android_20250317_01_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic APK release. Although the publication notes that the feature isn't publicly accessible, it did manage to discover a new deletion option in this Google Messages version.
It's called "Delete for everyone," and allows users to remotely delete RCS chats. Like the "unsend" iMessage feature, Google Messages notes that "messages may still be seen by others on older app versions." As such, this feature will become most useful not when it publicly releases, but months or years later as Android users move to new Google Messages versions.
When a message is deleted, a placeholder bubble will appear in the chat that reads "Message deleted." Unlike typical messages, there isn't a white or colored background for this bubble. Instead, it's clear and shows the background color of your conversation.
There are a few limitations to remote message deletion for RCS chats in Google Messages. For starters, older devices won't be able to participate, since the feature utilizes a newer version of the RCS Universal Profile. Additionally, you can only delete a message for everyone within the first 15 minutes after it's been sent.
If you delete a chat after the 15-minute time limit has expired, it'll only be deleted from your device. There's also an option to only delete a chat from your device within the time threshold. It's unclear when or if Google might release this feature, but it is clearly in development.
