Businesses and political campaigns can be pretty aggressive when it comes to bombarding users with unsolicited messages and cluttering inboxes. The short-lived feature let users unsubscribe from a sender from the conversation menu and the bottom of the conversation. After a user tapped on unsubscribe, Google sent the sender a "STOP" message to notify them to stop sending messages and remove their name from their texting list.
For US users, the Unsubscribe option is no longer shown at the bottom of the chat, though it can still be accessed in the menu. The change affects conversations with businesses using RCS as well as SMS/MMS chats with businesses using shortcodes.
Those who are still using a version older than 20250518.01 will continue to have the Unsubscribe option inside the chat.
For users in Spain, the Unsubscribe option has been removed from the menu as well.
You will likely still be able to stop spam messages from some businesses by replying "STOP," but considering not everyone is aware of this option, Google Messages users in the US and Spain should brace themselves for an untidy inbox. The fact that the feature was only pulled in two countries suggests businesses may have forced Google to withdraw it.
There's also a slim possibility that users complained about tapping on the button unintentionally and missing out on important updates from businesses.
Google has only said that it has removed the feature to optimize the user experience, but that doesn't entirely make sense, considering it hasn't been disabled for all users.
Thus it's likely that Google caved to businesses and opened the floodgates for spam messages once again.
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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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