Google Messages rolls out new sharing UI (U)

After initial testing last October, Google Messages is rolling out a broader overhaul of its sharing user interface.

Update 7/1:This in-conversation sharing and forwarding UI redesign is now widely available to stable Google Messages users (build 20240603_01_RC01).

Original 06/14:When you select Google Messages in the Android share sheet, you are now greeted with a full-screen “Select recipients” UI. You get five “Recent Conversations” with an excerpt of the last message sent.

Tapping “Most Recent Conversations” loads what appears to be your entire history, while a search button appears in the top-right corner. Below that is your full contact list, which presumably serves as a replacement for the old pop-up UI’s “New Message.”

You can select multiple conversations, with selected profile avatars appearing in the top row. Tap the “Next” FAB to continue and “Share Individually”.

Old versus new

This is also the interface that appears when you forward messages and after taking a photo from the home screen camera shortcut.

The new layout looks a bit busier than the previous approach, but gives you more information/context.

Given the delay between initial testing and this reappearance (with no apparent changes in the interim), Google Messages may be in the process of fully rolling out this sharing overhaul. More and more users have been receiving it in recent weeks, but it’s not yet widely available. We’re seeing it in the Beta channel.

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