Despite the wide range of Google services, users Android have been looking towards developments Apple for years. The key services that many of them would have liked to see on their platform were FaceTime and iMessage. But either Cupertino was not eager to develop their cross-platform versions, or because of the peculiarities Android it was physically impossible to implement, but neither service reached the operating system of the search giant. So Google had to deal with creating iMessage for Android and FaceTime for Android on its own. The only pity is that she did not succeed right away.
Google will have a real messenger. Finally
Google has been very active lately on extending the capabilities of the proprietary Messaging app for Android. If earlier it worked exclusively as a means of receiving and sending SMS, then some time ago the company's developers added support for the RCS standard to the application, which turned it into a kind of messenger. The only drawback of the innovation was the lack of support for end-to-end encryption. Because of this, 'Messages' could do everything the same as regular instant messengers, with the exception of ensuring the confidentiality of correspondence.
Why end-to-end encryption is needed
End-to-end encryption is the norm for all messengers today
End-to-end encryption is a method of transferring data, including text messages with media attachments, in which only the users between whom you are communicating have access to them. Protection is provided through the use of encryption keys that are generated on devices and are not transmitted somewhere outside. As a result, it is possible to access the contents of messages only from devices with keys, and external hacking attempts by third parties who are not allowed to the conversation become impossible by decryption.
Realizing that without proper protection, no one would use Messages as a messenger, Google decided to start encrypting messages with end-to-end encryption. The company has already started testing the corresponding mechanisms, which do not yet really work even in the beta version of the application, and 12 lines of program code testify to the ongoing work on the implementation of end-to-end encryption. This means that although Google is working in this direction, there is still a lot of time left before the release of a full-fledged update.
Messenger for Android from Google
The audience of 'Messages' is ordinary users who find it difficult to understand all the famous messengers
Frankly, Google should have somehow protected 'Messages' for Android for a long time, because now that end-to-end encryption and privacy for many users have become a fundamental idea, it is very reckless to neglect the safety of messages sent. But now, having implemented protection in its service, Google may well pretend to boldly declare itself in the messenger market and start attracting an audience, especially since the company really has a chance to win back some share.
Yes, most likely, WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber users will not voluntarily give up their homes and will not migrate to Messages from Google. However, they are not the target audience of the search giant's proprietary messenger. Most likely, in order to gain a foothold in this market, the company will need to target non-advanced users who do not want or, for some reason, cannot download, and even more so register with popular communication services. And 'Messages' are already preinstalled for a large number Android – devices and do not require any active steps for registration – you just need to insert an active SIM-card.