Google Messages update brings iOS emoji reactions to all

San Francisco: Google Messages has rolled out a big upgrade for everyone, including iOS emoji reactions and Google Photos links for video sharing in chats.

After beta testing support for iOS' Tapbacks last month, Google Messages now displays them properly for everyone. The iOS-friendly reactions have started rolling out to the public, and they should be live on all of the best Android phones over the next few weeks, reports Android Central.

The new feature will arrive first on devices set to English, "with additional languages to follow".

With the latest update, Google plugs a major gap between Android and iOS users, meaning iMessage emojis will no longer appear as text on Messages. Previously, emoji reactions sent from an iPhone would be translated into text descriptions such as "liked an image" for example, instead of an actual like button.

This was due to incompatibilities between the new RCS standard being embraced by Google and SMS, on which iPhones remain stuck at present, the report said.

Messages has also picked up a bunch of other feature updates and new capabilities. Users can now sort messages into personal and business tabs with an organised inbox, inspired by Gmail's message categories. This helps you avoid missing important messages from your boss, for example.

To further reduce clutter in your conversation, Messages will now automatically remove one-time password messages after 24 hours. It was initially rolled out in India.