Google Messages is shaking things up! 🌟 Get ready for a fresh take on link and YouTube previews within your Android conversations.
Previously, when you sent a URL, it would display at the top, followed by an image preview. Below that, you'd find the page title, description, and domain.
The redesign takes a different approach. If there's no accompanying text, the original link is hidden. Instead, you'll see a larger cover image (usually) with minimal cropping. The bottom section gets a makeover too, with a bolder background and a bigger title for easier reading. While the domain is still there, the helpful page snippet is gone, along with the favicon.
When a link is sent with text, the preview might be narrower to accommodate the message length.
Hiding the link might seem a bit drastic, but it does create a cleaner thread. Unfortunately, by removing the article preview, Messages is now similar to Google Discover.
If you prefer seeing the full URL and don't need previews, you can head to your Messages settings, navigate to Automatic previews, and turn off "Show all previews" or "Show only web link previews." Alternatively, you can long-press and copy to view the link.
As for YouTube links, tapping on them in this beta version opens the video in Google Messages' picture-in-picture player. There's no direct way to open it in the YouTube app. Disabling the PiP preference just opens it fullscreen within Google Messages using the web player. Let's hope this is a temporary glitch during the beta phase. Another issue some users are facing is a "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" prompt, with no clear way to proceed from the player window.
Overall, the redesign looks aesthetically pleasing, but it might sacrifice some functionality. Some tweaks are needed before a wider release. The new link previews are available in the latest Google Messages beta (version 2025112100RC01).
What do you think of these changes? Do you prefer the old or new design? Let's discuss in the comments! 🗨️
