Latest news with #GoogleMessages
Android Authority
a day ago
- Android Authority
Google Messages may extend its nudity-scanning photo filter to also work on video (APK teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Last year Google announced Sensitive Content Warnings for Messages. The opt-in system runs on-device and can detect nudity in still images. Google now appears to be working to extend this system to also work on video content. Modern communication truly is a double-edged sword, and for as easy as it makes it for us to keep in contact with our loved ones, privately sharing all the important details of our lives, these systems can make it just as easy for someone we don't want to hear from to reach out with some particularly disturbing content. It's for reasons like this that last year Google announced Sensitive Content Warnings for Messages, an on-device tool for scanning media and alerting you in advance of any potential nudity. After seeing that start to go live this spring, we're now checking out what could be the next evolution it's getting ready to take. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. 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. Sensitive Content Warnings are designed to help limit the unwanted proliferation of nude images, but with RCS now in wide deployment, users can send each other a lot more than just still pics. As we look into Google's new build of Messages, we've uncovered some evidence that has us thinking about how this system could extend to also apply to video: Code Copy Text video Video may contain nudity As you may remember from a teardown we did while first waiting for the option to go live, 'Spatula' is Google's codename for Sensitive Content Warnings, and the value of that second string here makes perfectly clear that we're still looking for the same thing. AssembleDebug / Android Authority Right now, this is all we have to go on, and we haven't yet been able to actually get Messages to process video through SafetyCore to scan for nudity. That said, this pretty transparently feels like it's headed in that direction, and we'd suspect that it's only a matter of time before we have something along that line to share with you. After all, Sensitive Content Warnings for photos are a good start, but there's a lot more media out there that could be full of unwanted nudity. Hopefully we'll soon have the tools to stay on top of all of it. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
Videos and images in Google Messages have a smooth new animation (APK teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google Messages may introduce a new animation for the media player. Videos and images now slide into view from the bottom of the screen instead of fading in and out. You can also swipe down to close an image or video. Google is not new to tweaking its apps. Sometimes, those changes improve the experience, make the experience worse, or have no effect at all. The next tweak is coming for the Messages app, and it seems like an update that will fall into the improved category. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. 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. When you want to expand an image or play a video in a Google Messages chat, you just have to tap on the image or video to bring up the media player. Currently, you'll see a fade-in animation when activating the media player and a fade-out animation when closing the player. You can see an example of the current animation in the video below. While digging into Google Messages (version we found that Google is working on a new animation for the media player. This new animation has the image or video slide up from the bottom of the screen. In practice, the new animation looks silky smooth compared to the current animation. In addition to this new animation, it looks like there's a new feature here as well. Previously, you had to swipe from the side of the screen to close out of the media player. However, this update adds the option to close the media player by swiping down, similar to Google Photos. This discovery arrives shortly after a different APK teardown revealed Google could remove the 'G' logo from Messages. In its place, the company may be planning to use the full 'Google' wordmark. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Phone Arena
4 days ago
- Phone Arena
A revised heading being tested will bring new branding to the Google Messages app
The iconic multi-colored "G" logo used by Google could be on the verge of getting removed from the Google Messages app. While Google has been making small changes to its apps, many of them based on the Material 3 Expressive design, it also has a change in the works for Google Messages that has to do with the app's branding. It really isn't a big deal but it does give the app a new look. Android Authority was sniffing around the Google Messages app and made quite the discovery. While the current version of the app uses the iconic "G" logo on the top-left side of the app's heading followed by the word "Messages, by using some magic (possibly picked up at Hogwarts), a big change was spotted. The "G" logo will be replaced with the full Google wordmark followed by the word "Messages." The word "Google" uses the same four colors as the Google "G" logo: Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green. Android Authority was able to create the new look, including showing everyone what this new branding will look like on Galaxy phones running Samsung's One UI. Google has already made the same change on several other of its apps including Google Photos, Google Calendar, and Drive. Google is changing the branding on Google Messages frim the iconic Logo to the use of the Google Wordmark. | Image credit-Android Authority Google Messages is an important app for Android users since it supports Rich Communication Services (RCS). Android users employing Google Messages as their messaging app can run RCS on chats with other Google Messages users and even enjoy end-to-end encryption which is something that is not yet offered when a Google Messages user is in an RCS chat with an iPhone user. Some Android users, for some strange reason, prefer to load messaging apps that have the name of their wireless provider. If it didn't come pre-installed on your Android phone, you can install Google Messages by tapping on this link and following the directions to download it on your phone. It isn't clear when this new branding look will be pushed out through stable channels. All we can say at the moment is that Google has been looking to feature uniform branding on its apps. With the new look, even the greenest smartphone user could tell that the messages app he's using is Google Messages. Switch to a 2-month Total 5G or 5G+ plan with Total Wireless and score this foldable deal. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Phone Arena
5 days ago
- Phone Arena
"View Details" in Google Messages app now gives you much more detail
Google has been working on improving both the looks and the functionality of the Google Messages app. The latest addition is a redesigned "View Details" page. We first told you about this in February when a new beta version of the Messages app was released with a new UI that included "View Details." Previously, long-pressing on a message, tapping the three-dot menu icon, and selecting "View Details" would bring up a toast message containing some information about that message. The information that "View Details" provided included the type of messaging platform that particular message was sent over (for example, Rich Communication Service, Text Message, or Multimedia Message. The info included the phone number it was sent from and the phone number it was sent to, and the date and time the message was sent. The revision to "View Details" is actually a new UI that shows the content of the message in the top half of the screen, including any emoji reactions. The bottom half of the UI includes deeper contact information including profile pictures and display names if available. For group chats, you'll be able to find out exactly who received the message or read it. If you're examining the details of a reply, the original message will be included, keeping you from having to go back through a complex text just to read something you missed that was in the original message. A collapsible contacts list will keep the screen from getting too cluttered when trying to get details on a message with a dozen or more participants. At left, the old version of View Details. At center and right is the new UI for View Details in Google Messages. | Image credit-Android Authority The new look for "View Details" is appearing in the beta version of the Google Messages app (version To see which version of Google Messages your phone is running, go to Settings > Apps > See all xxx apps . Scroll down to Messages and tap it to see the Messages App info page. At the bottom of that page will be the version number of the Messages app on your phone.
Android Authority
5 days ago
- Android Authority
Google may be removing its iconic 'G' logo from Messages (APK teardown)
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority TL;DR The Google Messages app could be getting a branding tweak that removes the famous 'G' logo. It seems that the company plans to use the full 'Google' wordmark in the app's header going forward. The new Google Messages branding seems to be consistent with other Google apps, such as Photos, Calendar, Drive, and more. Google is constantly making subtle changes to the look and feel of its core apps, and we've discovered that Google Messages may be in line for a minor but notable branding tweak. While digging around in the latest Google Messages beta version, we found that the app is experimenting with a branding update in its header that aligns with branding seen across many other Google apps. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. 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. Currently, Google Messages displays the familiar standalone 'G' icon in the top-left corner of the app's screen. However, using certain tricks of the trade, we uncovered that the 'G' logo is being swapped out for the full 'Google' wordmark, a more direct and brand-forward approach. Our teardown also shows how this updated branding will appear across different devices, including Samsung phones running One UI. Although Google could have updated the existing 'G' logo to its newer multi-colored gradient version, it's not surprising that the company has made this change. Many of its core apps, like Google Calendar, Drive, and Photos, already display the 'Google' branding in the app header, typically in plain white text. In this case, Messages seems to be following that trend, but with a twist. The wordmark appears in Google's full-color logo, making it stand out a bit more. We don't know when or if Google will switch to this new branding in Messages anytime soon, but it might be part of an upcoming UI refresh. We'll keep tracking it to see if it reaches stable builds. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
