If you frequently use Google’s messaging service, there’s exciting news for you. Google Messages is officially introducing the long-awaited “Delete for everyone” feature. This update will enhance your RCS conversations and provide a much-needed degree of control, aligning Google Messages with other messaging platforms that have offered similar features for some time. The ability to retract a message will feel familiar if you’re a WhatsApp, Telegram, or Instagram user.

Now, when you send a message you later regret—whether it’s due to a typo, sending it to the wrong group, or simply changing your mind—you can act quickly. Instead of being trapped with that message, you can simply long-press it in RCS chats, where a trash icon will appear. Tapping on this icon will present you with two options: “Delete for everyone” or “Delete for me.” Choosing the first option will remove the message from all recipients’ views, giving you a moment of digital redemption.

However, be aware that if some recipients are using older versions of the app, they may still see the message. In addition to the “Delete for everyone” feature, Google Messages now includes a new “Snooze notifications” option. This is particularly useful when a conversation is more active than you’d like, but you don’t want to mute it permanently. By long-pressing any conversation on the app’s homepage and selecting the snooze icon, you can choose to pause notifications for 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or even indefinitely.

Importantly, no one else in the chat will know you’ve snoozed the notifications; the conversation will simply appear grayed out with a small icon visible to you. Alongside these significant updates, minor enhancements have also been implemented. Users can now set custom profile avatars in RCS group chats and enjoy improved visibility of RCS status on the new chat page. These updates exemplify Google’s continuous efforts to enhance Messages, aiming to make it a stronger contender in the messaging space, even if it isn’t the most widely used service yet.