Latest Google Messages update comes with a sharing menu change your group chat will love

Some people may choose an iPhone 17 just to get access to iMessage, but Google Messages appears to be quickly becoming an even better chat app alternative. The latest improvement will make sharing a bit easier, adding to a bunch of really nice updates we’ve got recently.

Google Messages improves sharing to multiple contacts

Sharing something with multiple contacts on Google Messages just got easier thanks to a new sharing menu, spotted by a user on Reddit. Shown in a screenshot from the app, the new flow now gives users two options when they select multiple contacts to share something with.



The option that appears highlighted is Send separately, which shares the selected content with every contact in a private chat. The Send to a group option, unsurprisingly, creates a group chat with the selected contacts.

Smarter than it seems at first

One very useful part of the feature is that it can detect if the contacts you selected are already in an existing group. Instead of creating a duplicate chat, Google Messages will just use an existing conversation.

On a similar note, if you try creating a group with a mix of MMS and RCS contacts, the app won’t allow it. Instead, it would prompt you to remove the MMS numbers and try again.

Google is not reinventing the wheel with this feature, as Instagram already offers something similar inside its app. If you try to share a reel or a post to multiple contacts, you’d get the option to create a group or share to each one of them individually. However, Instagram can’t match existing groups.

This is just one of a slew of new features that Google Messages has been getting in the last few months. Among the more useful ones was the new real-time location sharing option, similar to what WhatsApp offers.

When will you be able to use this new feature?

You may still not be able to see the new feature on your phone yet. This appears to be either a limited test, which could take some time before becoming official. It may also be a server-side rollout, which usually takes some time to reach all users.

Either way, updating the app is unlikely to give you access to the new option. Considering the nature of the update, it’s probably only a matter of time before it gets widely released.

Switching could still take time

I’ve never felt like I had much of a choice about the messaging apps I’m using, because it all depends on whom I’d like to talk to. However, if there’s something that could make people consider switching apps, it would be nice new features that make their lives easier.

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