Google Messages will soon allow you to delete sent messages

Back in June, the GSMA Association, the group responsible for RCS, finalized the latest standard. This update brings some exciting features, including the highly anticipated ability to delete a sent message; and as expected, Google Messages is preparing to support it.

Universal Profile 2.7 brings the ability to “Edit, Recall and Delete messages that they sent earlier for themselves and the message recipient.” Currently, deleting a message in most apps only removes it from your device, not the recipient’s. This update looks to change that.

9to5 Google has decompiled the latest version of the Google Messages application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. After examining the underlying code, they spotted a few strings that clearly hint at this new feature being worked into Messages. While Google technically may not ever ship this feature, code strings this clear usually point at an inevitable future.

Some of the strings included in this Beta version 20250131_02_RC00 of Google Messages feature multiple prompts related to this new functionality. Some of those options appear to be “Delete for me” and “Delete for everyone.” This will require that all users have the latest version of Google Messages, as “Messages may still be seen by others on older app versions.”

The deletion will be noted in the conversation for all parties involved, displaying messages such as “You deleted a message,” “Message deleted by its author,” or, in cases of older app versions, “Sender attempted to delete a message.”

Universal Profile 2.7 also officially supports “Replies and Reactions (including Custom Reactions) to sent and received messages.” This means messaging apps on Android and iOS will no longer need to manually convert reactions. We can also anticipate inline/threaded replies from Android (to iOS) users that include the message being referenced. Additional features include the ability to undo sending a message shortly after it was sent and native editing support across platforms.

While these features appear to be currently in the works, it’s not yet clear when they will roll out to the public. But these new features – once rolled out to most – will continue to close the gap on messaging between ecosystems. More and more I see RCS features in my text messages to iPhone users, and the addition of message deletion, custom reactions and threaded replies will only make the transition that much smoother.