Believe it or not, Rich Communication Services (RCS) is quickly becoming a fantastic alternative to SMS messaging. Now, Google Messages might be gearing up to roll out a highly anticipated feature. It will let you set custom icons for RCS group chats.
Google Messages could let you set custom icons for RCS group chats on your Galaxy
For now, the Google Messages automatically generates an icon for each group based on a grid of participants’ initials or profile pictures. But that’s about to change. According to Android Authority, a recent beta version of Google Messages (20241127_00_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic) reveals that custom group chat icons in RCS may soon be supported. If and when this feature rolls out, users will be able to swap the default grid for a custom image.
Although custom group chat icons might seem like a minor update for RCS, it’s actually a pretty big deal. In fact, the default design can be a bit cumbersome, especially when you have multiple groups with overlapping members or when group members keep leaving and rejoining. This can make it difficult to keep track of which group is which. For example, if you have both a university group and a meme-sharing group with the same people, you definitely wouldn’t want to accidentally send fire memes to the former—where your professor might smirk quietly. But could also plausibly report you!
When will it see the light of the day?
It’s still in the beta stage, which makes it hard to predict exactly when it will debut. Custom group chat icons have been part of the RCS Universal Profile for years. It’s Google that has yet to implement this feature.
With Samsung and Google expanding their partnership on RCS and Apple finally embracing, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that custom group chat icons for RCS on Galaxy (and other Android) phones could be arriving soon.
What remains to be seen, though, is how this will be implemented. Will it be limited to group admins, or will all participants have the ability to change the icon?
