Published May 9, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Andy is a senior writer and former Mac editor at HTG. He has over 20 years experience as a consumer tech journalist, and has covered everything from the old Palm Pilots to the original iPhone and Android devices, to the latest gadgets. He has written and edited for UK-based print publications like PDA Essentials and Android Magazine , and online at sites including  MUO , Android Tips and Hacks , broadband.co.uk , and Envato . He has a passion for all things mobile and has been a keen Mac enthusiast since 2005. I've been using Google Messages since it launched in 2014 and replaced the old Android messaging app. Despite having it on my phone for so long, it took me a while to discover everything it could do. I missed these features for a long time, and if you're only using the app for basic messaging, you might have too.…