Google testing animated emoji reactions in its Messages app

San Francisco: In order to woo users, Google is testing animated emoji reactions in its Messages app.

The feature was first discovered in the beta version of Google Messages by X user AssembleDebug.

"Google Message to add some new animations for message reactions," AssembleDebug wrote.

"These are not your usual animated emoji reactions which you may have in Google Messages, this is something similar to message reactions in Telegram," he added.

As shown in the video shared by AssembleDebug, users can react to messages using animated emojis by simply long-pressing on a message and selecting the desired emoji. The selected emoji will then appear above the message.

Meanwhile, Google has finally introduced the ability to react to an email with an emoji on Android devices. The feature will roll out gradually, starting with Android users and coming to web and iOS users over the next few months.

“On your Android device, express yourself and quickly respond to emails with emojis. In Gmail, you can find the emoji reaction option on each message,” the company said in an update.

This is how it works. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app.

“Open a message you want to reply to. Below the message, tap Add emoji reaction Insert emoji. From the picker, select an emoji you want to use. To display more emoji, select More. The emoji you select appears at the bottom of the email,” said Google.