Google Messages no longer shows drafts in the conversations list

Google Messages for Android has made a small but noticeable change to the behavior of message drafts.

Previously, text you entered in the compose field but had not yet sent was reflected in the main conversation list. This thread moved up the page, while “You:” followed by what you typed appeared in italics.

Since the latest stable (version 20240521_00_RC01) and beta (20240531_00_RC00) versions of Google Messages, this preview no longer appears. Topics are still placed at the top of the list, but there is no indication that it is a draft. In fact, it appears that a contact’s last message was just received since the time indicator was updated instead of reading “Draft.”

This acknowledgment of an existing draft would suggest a bug rather than a feature removal, but Google Messages has gotten rid of old features in recent months, like reminders, nudges, and message organization (Personal + Business).

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