If you’re a Google Messages user with multiple Google accounts linked to your Android phone, you’ve probably experienced how seamless account switching is currently within the app. However, switching accounts or opting to use Google Messages without a Google account altogether can lead to some unexpected limitations. Google appears ready to address that with a new warning that appears when you want to ditch the Google account login.
Google Messages is rolling out a new feature in beta that clearly outlines which features you’ll lose when either signing out of your account or switching to a different Google account within the app. Signing out entirely from your Google account will warn you that you’ll lose access to features like Magic Compose (those helpful AI writing suggestions) and Device Pairing.
If you have Google’s Profile Discovery feature enabled, you’ll be prompted to disable it. This prevents others from seeing your profile picture and name in Google products, but also means people knowing your phone number might not easily connect with you on various Google services.
If you are switching between accounts, you’ll also get a similar warning. Magic Compose and Device Pairing will also become unavailable, as these features are tied to your specific Google account. Both of these warnings were spotted by @Assembledebug from TheSPAndroid during his usual search for new features.
Previously, Google Messages didn’t explicitly display the potential drawbacks of using the app without an associated account. However, adding this notification greatly improves transparency, letting users make informed choices about how they interact with Google Messages as it is not completely necessary to tie the app to a Google account. The feature seems to be rolling out gradually for those on the latest Google Messages beta, which is v.20240321_01_RC00 at this time.