Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is introducing rounded-square icons for RCS business chats to distinguish them from the circular icons used for personal conversations.
- Verified business agents will now display a checkmark, while the legacy shield icon is being replaced by a detailed profile page.
- These visual updates are designed to help users quickly identify, manage, and bulk-delete RCS marketing spam.
Google Messages is the primary messaging platform on Android smartphones, and thanks to RCS, it’s quite capable. However, Google Messages isn’t perfect by any means. In some regions, the app has been a carrier of RCS ad spam, and while the situation has improved in the past few years, it’s still a frequent occurrence. Thankfully, in the near future, Google will make it easier to distinguish your friends from the brands in your Google Messages inbox, improving the RCS experience.
Google recently changed the branding and verification for RCS for Business to “enhance user trust” and “align with Google standards.” As part of these changes, the RCS for Business messages will adopt a new rounded-square shape across Google Messages, including the conversations list, conversation screen, and conversation details. Verified agents now also include a verified checkmark.
All messages from businesses that use Rich Business Messaging to reach out to their customers for updates and promotions (and unnecessary marketing spam) will now feature a rounded square logo throughout the Google Messages app. This change will make it easier to spot business messages in the conversation list and bulk-delete them if you so wish. RCS conversations with regular users will retain the circular logo.
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We managed to enable the new experience in Google Messages v20260424 beta to give you an early look:
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
In the current Google Messages app, users can view a business’s verification status by tapping the shield icon in the header. Tapping the icon opens a dialog that shows the verification status and notes that the conversation is not end-to-end encrypted.
In the near future, all of this information will be visible in the business profile page. The shield icon will be removed.
Since Google has already detailed the changes, these should roll out to all users soon.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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