Google brings back cool Google Messages feature it just took away this past February
Send an iMessage that says "Congratulations" and confetti rains down on the screen. Type "Happy Birthday" to a fellow iPhone-totin' friend and balloons float up from the bottom of the screen. Do Android users have a similar feature? From last November to this February they did when Google took "Screen Effects" out for a test drive. A message sent saying "I love you" resulted in animated hearts appearing on the screen. The phrase "Sounds good" also set off the same screen effect with the animated hearts.
Some Android users loved "Screen Effects" and others didn't. Eventually, this past February the whole feature ended up in the same place where many of Google's ideas end up never to be seen again. But in this case, "Screen Effects" is getting a second chance and it has returned to both the stable version of Google Messages (version 20240621_00_RC00) and in beta releases. This time, if you don't like "Screen Effects" you don't have to ask Google to make it go away. Now, if you don't like the feature, it can be disabled.
Three new Screen Effects that appear on Google Messages when the trigger words are typed over RCS and SMS. | Image credit-9to5Google
"I Love You" and "Sounds Good" no longer elicit an animated effect on the screen. It's possible that these phrases are used too often setting off the animations too frequently. The new "Screen Effects" triggers and the animation that follows include:
- Booo: Tomatoes are thrown at the screen similar to what audiences used to do to performances on stage who weren't entertaining the crowd. Note that three "o's" are required.
- Congratulations: Confetti falls from the top, Balloons rise from the bottom.
- Going to the beach: A sand pail, a starfish, and waves.
- Hahahaha: With four ha's you'll see Tube men like the kind that appear outside your local used car dealership.
- Rise and shine: A brilliant yellow sun with birds.
More Screen Effects, the feature that Google has brought back to the Google Messages app. | Image credit-9to5Google
We expect more triggers and "Screen Effects" to be coming since Google originally promised that over 15 "Screen Effects" and triggers would be available. If you don't have Google Messages on your Android phone, you can install it from the Google Play Store by tapping on this link. We should point out that the effects will surface on messages conducted via Google Messages over both RCS and SMS.
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