Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Messages now enables you to management who sees your profile image and identify by the Profile discovery characteristic.
- Customers can select from three privateness settings: everybody they message, solely contacts, or nobody.
- You too can fully flip off profile discovery within the app settings.
Adore it or hate it, Google Messages is right here to remain. Whereas the app might lag behind standard texting apps, Messages has develop into the de-facto chief for RCS messaging on Android. For ardent Google Messages customers, Google is now rolling out privateness choices for the Profile discovery characteristic, giving customers extra management over who can see their profile.
We noticed the privateness choices for Profile discovery in an APK teardown report final month, and Google is now rolling it out extensively to customers within the secure department. At app startup, customers are greeted with the “Customise how you might be seen” web page, they usually have to decide on whom to point out their identify and film to: individuals they message, solely their contacts, or nobody.
As you might have seen, there isn’t any method to skip the display, so you’ll have to choose to proceed. In the event you change your thoughts, you’ll be able to return to the setup display by tapping the profile image within the top-right nook and choosing your profile.
Earlier than the rollout of those privateness choices, Profile discovery may simply be toggled on and off. These privateness choices give customers extra management over who can see their information, equivalent to identify and profile image. The flexibleness of those choices will treatment a very good chunk of authentic privateness considerations that folks had about their identify and profile image being seen to anybody with their quantity and even to individuals who randomly looked for numbers, as even the widest possibility restricts your particulars to individuals you message.
It’s essential to notice that you just nonetheless can’t set a unique profile image or identify for Google Messages. Your profile on Google Messages takes the identify and film of your Google account, i.e., your Gmail profile image.
How you can disable Profile discovery in Google Messages
In the event you’d a lot fairly not use the Profile discovery characteristic in any respect, you’ll be able to set the privateness choice to Nobody to proceed ahead into the Messages app after which flip off Profile discovery fully by following these steps:
- Open the Messages app.
- Faucet on the profile image on the prime proper nook.
- Go to Messages settings > Profile discovery > Flip off Profile discovery.
- Click on Flip off to show off profile discovery.
How you can use Google Messages with no Google account
In the event you’d desire to make use of Google Message with out attaching a Google account, you are able to do that by following the steps beneath:
- Open the Messages app.
- Faucet on the profile image on the prime proper nook.
- Choose the dropdown icon for account choice.
- Choose Use with out an account.
- Be certain that Cease profile discovery for this telephone quantity (really useful) is checked and chosen.
- Faucet on Signal out.
Notice that doing so will disable options like Magic Compose, System pairing, and Gemini and cease Profile discovery.
Have you ever acquired these privateness choices in Google Messages? What have you ever set it to, or did you flip off Profile discovery? Tell us within the feedback beneath!
