Google Messages brings double-tap to react, but there's a catch

Double tap to react is one of the most helpful features available on any messaging platform, such as Instagram DMs or Telegram. Without needing to hold the message and wait for reactions to appear, it simply does the job. Now, it seems Google Message is introducing a double tap to react feature. The catch is that this feature is yet to roll out to everyone, as it’s available in the beta version.

Google Messages double tap to react is coming soon

First reported by @AssembleDebug on X, folks at Android Police confirmed that it works in both messages.android_20240213_01_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic and RC01 versions. You don’t need to do anything special to use it, and it will work for both RCS and SMS after the feature is available to everyone.

More importantly, 9to5Google has hinted at this feature recently. The publication confirmed this is on the cards, and now we can see it coming to beta versions.

Once the feature makes it to Google Messages’ stable version, you can double-tap on messages to react. Plus, you can also tap and tell the message for more reactions. And to remove a reaction, double-tap on the message again, as simple as that.

Google Messages is on a roll lately

Google has been putting more effort into Messages lately. The company has been updating it with better emoji reactions and making it work better with SMS from iPhones. Furthermore, the company has been working on several other features including support for editing messages, using generative AI, and handling images better. It’s safe to assume, that iMessage might have some tough competition.

If you want to try out these new features, you can join the beta for Google Messages through the Play Store on your phone. That said, be assured that a double-tap reaction is coming soon to Google Messages.