Google Messages may receive features you never knew were missing

By Cristina Alexander Published April 1, 2025

Google may be upgrading Google Messages with the ability for users to mention other people in group chats and send links and QR codes.

According to a report from 9to5Google, a recent APK teardown for the latest beta for the Android messaging app, version 20250331_02_RC00, suggests it’s planning to implement support for the aforementioned features that not everyone noticed was missing from their group chats before. You’ll be able to mention someone in the group chat to get their attention when you need to directly ask or tell them something related to a topic being discussed, and enable notifications for when someone mentions you. You will also have the option to snooze notifications in increments of one, eight and 24 hours, as well as “Always.” However, you may not be able to snooze notifications for certain group chats.

The links and QR codes within the group chats will automatically expire after a few days, but the breakdown doesn’t give an exact number of days it takes for them to become inactive. The URL can be reset at any time, but there’s no mention of a timeframe between when the links are sent and when they expire.

It’s unknown when Google will update Google Messages with support for user mentions, links and QR codes. However, the teardown comes nearly two weeks after the company allowed YouTube videos to be played inside chats again following a year of that feature being rolled back quietly. It also comes nearly two months after the app received an update that allows users to unsend texts in RCS chats if they determine that such texts were either too awkward or otherwise regrettable after the fact. That comes with a “delete for everyone” functionality that allows you to spare everyone in the group chat the embarrassment of the message’s content.