Google Messages, now the default messaging app on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, has seen several enhancements in recent years. Since users frequently share links to webpages, articles, and videos through messages, Google aims to improve how these links are presented for a more engaging experience.
One notable update focuses on YouTube video previews within conversations. Previously, the preview included the video's URL at the top, followed by an image, a title, and a brief description. The redesigned layout features a larger thumbnail image, accompanied by the video's title, YouTube's favicon, and the website’s domain name for a cleaner appearance.
When tapping a YouTube video in the chat, the video opens in a picture-in-picture window. According to 9To5Google, there is currently no option to open the video directly in the YouTube app, which may be a temporary issue.
This refreshed design also applies to website links and online articles. These previews display the main image of the article, then the title, favicon, and website domain. For users who prefer not to see these previews, there is an option to disable them by going to Message Settings > Automatic Previews and turning off the Show All Previews feature.
The new interface presents a much cleaner and more visually appealing preview compared to the previous version. It is available in the latest beta release (20251121_00_RC01) of Google Messages, which was rolled out earlier this week.
