Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Last month we saw Google Messages start working on a link invite system for group chats.
- While still not available to use, we can now access the in-development link sharing interface.
- Messages will let you create shareable URLs and QR codes, which expire after 30 days.
Group chats are a fantastic way for doing everything from sharing gossip with friends, to coordinating family travel plans, to talking about what’s going down in Yemen. And while they can easily start to feel overwhelming at times, isn’t it just that much worse when we realize there’s a group chat going on without us? This is part of why we were so excited a couple weeks back when we uncovered work towards Google Messages getting a convenient new way to add people to a chat.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
What we saw was Google starting to add support in Messages for joining a group chat via an invitation link. But while we identified a new “join via link” activity in the app’s code, at the time we didn’t have a great sense for how this feature would actually be implemented in Messages.
Today we finally start filling in those blanks as we get a look at how Google is building this link-sharing interface. We’re analyzing Messages version messages.android_20250331_02_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic, and while the screen isn’t yet functional, with this release we’re able to get the app to surface its link invite interface:
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
As you can see, Messages will let you create an invite link that you can either share directly as a URL, or render as a QR code for a friend to easily scan. There’s also a toggle that appears to distinguish between one-off links intended for just a single person to join your group chat, or reusable ones that can be distributed to anyone you want to join.
Regardless of which you choose, links are set to automatically expire after 30 days. If someone ends up sharing a link and you notice a bunch of unwanted randos joining your chat, it looks like we’re also getting the option to nuke links we’ve already issued.
With none of the buttons on this screen yet functional, it may still be a little while before group chat invite links are ready to debut in Messages, but we’re happy to see Google making progress, all the same. We’ll keep you informed of any further development work we’re able to identify along this angle.
