I changed 6 Google Messages settings and my Android texting experience got so much better

Samsung recently announced that it's retiring Samsung Messages this July, pushing millions of Android users toward Google Messages. I was one of them. I switched about a month ago, and for the first week, I used the app without changing a single setting. It worked, and that felt like all it needed to do. But Google Messages buries a lot in its settings menu, and a few tweaks there genuinely changed how texting feels on my Android.

Read receipts had to go

Not every text needs a timestamp

The first thing I turned off was read receipts. Google Messages enables them by default for RCS conversations, along with typing indicators. The person on the other end can see when you've opened their message and when you're composing a reply. For me, that created pressure in every conversation I opened. If I didn't reply for a couple of hours, that gap between read and reply said something I never meant it to. I disabled both under the RCS chat settings.

It cuts both ways, though. You also stop seeing when others have read your texts. I prefer that trade. I don't need to know someone opened my message forty minutes ago and chose not to respond.

OTPs don't deserve inbox space

Expired codes clutter every conversation

OTP codes have always cluttered my message list. Every bank login, every app verification leaves behind a text I'll never open again. Samsung Messages had no way to deal with that, but Google Messages does.

Under your profile icon, go to Message settings -> Message organization and enable Auto-delete OTP messages. It wipes these codes 24 hours after they arrive.

Within a day of turning it on, the dead weight started clearing itself. Beyond cleanliness, old OTP messages reveal which banks and services you use. And if your phone is unlocked or shared, a recent code might still be valid.

Smart replies need a draft mode

One tap shouldn't mean sent

Google Messages suggests quick replies at the bottom of your conversations. Tap one, and it sends right away. If your partner asks whether you can pick up groceriesand you tap "Sure" to add "after 6" before sending, that "Sure" is already delivered on its own. Now you're sending a second message to finish a thought that should've been one.

I fixed this through Message settings. Under Suggestions & Actions, open Suggestions and select Tap to draft. With that on, tapping a suggestion drops it into your text field first. You can edit it or add to it before hitting send.

Gemini in your message list

Google's AI lives in your texts now

This one isn't a tweak, but a whole new conversation. Under Message settings, open Gemini in Messages and toggle on Show Gemini button. Turn it on, and Gemini appears alongside your regular contacts in the message list, with its button fixed right above the new chat icon. Tap the conversation, and you can ask anything, the same way you'd text a friend.

I've used it to look up word meanings while texting and to draft a reply I was stuck on. It responds with formatted answers right inside the thread. These chats aren't end-to-end encrypted like your regular conversations, but Gemini can only access its own chat, not your other messages.

Both swipes do the same thing

One direction is completely wasted

Google Messages sets both swipe directions to archive by default. Left and right do the same thing, which wastes one direction entirely. I changed mine, so swiping right marks a conversation as read or unread, and swiping left sends it to trash. The setting is in Message settings under Swipe actions, where you'll see both directions listed separately with a Customize button next to each. Tap it and pick what you want that direction to do.

With both swipes mapped to different actions, managing my message list after a busy day takes one gesture instead of tapping into conversations and going through menus.

Messages with a delivery date

Write it now, send it on time

I remember birthdays at the wrong time. Always weeks early, never on the day. Scheduling a text fixed this for me. Instead of tapping the send button like you normally would, long-press it. That opens a scheduling menu. You'll see a few suggested times for later in the day, along with an option to pick a specific date and time yourself.

So if I remember a friend's birthday in July while it's still June, I write the message right then and long-press send to schedule it for the actual date. The message stays in the Scheduled thread until that day arrives, and it sends automatically without me having to open the app.

While you're in there

If you're switching from Samsung Messages before the July deadline, these six aren't the only settings you need to change. I've also pinned my three most active conversations to the top of my list so they stay visible. For things like addresses and confirmation numbers, I mark them with a star so I can find them later through the search bar instead of scrolling back through old threads.