Google Messages Adds New ‘Sending As’ Profile Alert to Simplify Messaging

Google Messages is now specifically advising you of the name and profile you’re “Sending as,” in addition to offering “Your profile” settings.

As of right now, in RCS discussions, a “Sending as” notice appears exactly over the text box. It displays your name and profile picture for your Google Account.

The line will vanish once a message has been sent in that thread. The Google Messages beta (version 20241112_00_RC00) is being used to roll out this.

Update: The stable channel (version 20241029_00_RC01) is also displaying “Sending as.”

Previously known as Profile discovery, Profile sharing in Google Messages “allows you to share your Google Account profile (name and picture only) with the people you send messages to.” The goal is to facilitate recognition, particularly during group discussions.

Recipients will “retain the saved name if it’s different” on their device’s Contacts app, but the profile you create replaces any previously saved contact photos.

If this option is enabled for you, you can change the name and photo by selecting the “Your profile” menu located in the top-right corner of the profile menu. Go to Google Account settings to change your name or photo. In the meanwhile, you have three choices for “Show name and picture to”:

People you message: After you send someone a message, they can see your profile.

Only your contacts: Only those who are in your contacts can see your profile after you send them a message.

No one: After you send a message, no one can see your profile.

If you accidentally share your profile with a suspected spammer, block and report the conversation as spam. Your profile information is immediately removed from that conversation, which removes access to your profile name and picture from the spammer.