I stopped giving away my schedule through Google Messages with these hidden settings

Google Messages is vital to my phone. It's my primary way to communicate with my family.

But as I got older, I developed habits I am not proud of, like having an inconsistent, poor sleep schedule.

As a result, I've become more privacy-conscious, and I delay messages because I don't want to give away my habits or anything that reveals my daily routine through my Samsung phone alone.

It's also helped me improve my personal privacy and security in other ways. Here's what I began doing to take the pressure off myself.

Google Messages has a scheduled chat feature

It's been an absolute boon for hiding my actual activity

I don't want to expose my habits, and I also like to keep my work breaks hidden.

Some days I don't have much time to message other people, but if I consistently send messages at the same time each day, that reveals my schedule.

Most people understand when I can't respond right away, but some get anxious when I don't.

It makes me feel guilty when I can't, but sometimes I have to do chores (I have two very busy Golden Retrievers that are needy), and other times I want to read more deeply about a topic I am working on.

Google Messages RCS chat with read receipts can give your activity away . I've been lucky to never have anyone comment, but keeping it on can lead to awkward social situations.

Turn this off through Messages settings> RCS chats> Send read receipts. I also advise turning off Show typing indicatorsto safeguard your privacy.

That's when I decided to use the scheduling message feature. It's simple to do inside the Google Messages app.

In the compose message field, type the message you want to send, then tap the Plus signand tap Schedule Send.

Choose a preset time, or tap Pick date and time.

This is a handy feature if you are forgetful about birthdays; you can send a message months in advance.

The only thing to watch out for is that your phone needs to be on and connected to Wi-Fi or your data. Otherwise, you may miss the window to send.

While this is great for birthdays, you might want to double-check that the message was sent when it was scheduled!

Overall, I found this feature extra helpful when I sent an onslaught of pictures and videos to different members of my family.

I sometimes sent those attachments late at night, and instead of worrying about disturbing someone or waking them up, I used the scheduled chat/message feature to send those messages in the morning when I wouldn't be awake.

Hiding Google Messages from prying eyes

No one needs to know your business

Two other habits I picked up in the last year involve keeping my activity hidden.

While I trust the people around me, I felt better hiding my personal messages from others who might look over my shoulder at the store (especially at self-serve checkouts, where workers love hovering around you and invading your personal space).

Other times, my mom accidentally picked up my phone, thinking it was hers, because we have the same model and case but different colors, but the shade is the same.

So no matter the situation, I don't want to let my guard down, and the sender deserves privacy too.

I do this in two ways. First, by hiding the lock screen preview. It's relatively simple since it's built into the Google Messages settings menu.

Open Messages settings, tap Notifications> Show or hide content when locked. Choose Hide when lockedin the drop-down menu.

This prevents messages from showing on your lock screen, so if anyone accidentally opens your device (like the situation with my mother), they can't read the contents (it isn't visible).

I had this setting on for a while, and I am thankful, since I have also been on the other end of it by opening my mother's phone and seeing the message preview on her lock screen.

So I'm extra appreciative of this feature.

The second setting involves archiving my chats. You send your active chats to an archived section, which is hidden from your main chats.

Someone would have to really snoop to view your archived chats, since it requires going through an extra menu to get to them.

To archive chats, long-tap any active message, then tap the Archive buttonat the top; the icon looks like a box with a downward arrow in the center.

Then, to view and access your archived chats, tap your Profile iconin Google Messages.

Select Archived. From here, you can view a list of all the chats you archived.

You can also unarchive your chats by long-tapping a message and then tapping the Unarchive button(a box with an upward arrow in the center).

Stay secure in Google Messages

Earning back privacy is one thing, but what about security? Unfortunately, by adding a Gemini shortcut to your Google Messages, you are giving access to your chats.

You may also want to clean up the OTP messages that accumulate by turning on Auto-delete OTP messages after 24 hours. Leaving expired codes around isn't dangerous, but it leaves a digital footprint of the apps and services you tend to use.

So you'll definitely want to be conscientious about your personal privacy settings in Google Messages , along with your general security practices.

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