Google Messages could soon bring WhatsApp like message editing feature. Here's what we know so far

livemint.com:

Google is working on new WhatsApp- and iMessage-like features for its messaging app in a bid to attract more users. The Google Messages app may now be planning to launch a new message-editing feature that is currently in development. However, Google hasn't yet confirmed whether this feature will make it into the final version of the app.

According to a report from SPAndroid, Google added some flags to the beta version of the Google Messages app that was released in the last week of November. The four flags that were spotted suggest that the Mountain View, California-based company may be going WhatsApp's way with the new editing feature. However, the leaks do not reveal whether Google Messages' editing feature will have a time frame until a message can be edited, like WhatsApp or iMessage.

Furthermore, a report from Android Police warns that Google is always working on new features, so there's no guarantee that this feature will make it into the stable version of the Messages app. Meta-owned WhatsApp announced the message editing feature earlier this year to give users more control over their chats. WhatsApp users can long press on a message to edit it for up to 15 minutes after it has been sent, and the edited messages will have the word "edited" next to them.

Meanwhile, Apple's iMessage had allowed users to edit their messages up to two minutes after they were sent, with the release of the iOS 16 operating system in 2021. Both iMessage and WhatsApp also allow users to delete their messages. Although Google has been guilty of neglecting its messaging app in the past, the Android maker is in no mood to make the same mistakes.