Samsung Messages used to be the default SMS app on Galaxy smartphones and tablets until 2021. With the Galaxy S21 lineup and One UI 3.1, Samsung started pushing Google Messages as the default SMS app while continuing to have its own app installed, and that's been the case on every new phone launched since then.
Of course, the fact that Samsung puts Google's app front and center has less to do with it being a superior app and more to do with the money that flows into the Korean giant's coffers with such partnerships. Samsung Messages has a lot going for it, and its simplicity is a key advantage that keeps my colleague Mihai from switching to Google Messages.
I prefer Samsung Messages as well, though for me it's not about the simplicity but because I'm not big on change. But last month, I finally caved. I'm now using Google Messages as default, and there are two reasons for that.
I need that automatic OTP deletion feature from Google Messages
Samsung Messages has plenty of features, but there's one that Samsung refuses to add years after it came to Google Messages, and that's automatic OTP (one-time password) deletion.
With two-factor authentication so critical for everything we do on our phones and on the internet these days, it's easy for our inboxes to fill up with OTP messages. OTPs for financial transactions make up a majority of the messages that I get on my phone, and as someone who's not very disciplined at keeping my inboxes clean, whether it's my Gmail account or my phone's SMS inbox, the option to have those OTPs automatically deleted is incredibly useful.
Google Messages can be set to delete OTP messages 24 hours after they reach your inbox, and to enable it, just open the Google Messages app, tap the profile icon at the top right, select Messages settings, tap General followed by Message organization, and use the toggle next to the Auto-delete OTPs after 24 hours option.
Samsung makes it annoying to switch to its Messages app on new phones
As SamMobile's resident smartphone reviewer, I change phones often. I use Samsung's Smart Switch app to transfer my data and settings from one device to another, and it does a great job of setting almost everything up exactly the way I had it on the older device.
The home screen layout is one of the things Smart Switch can copy from one device to another, and that's where it gets frustrating. Every new phone comes with Google Messages as the default app so I switch manually to Samsung Messages and also replace the Google Messages icon on the home screen with the Samsung Messages shortcut.
The frustrating bit is that I have to make the switch and replace the home screen icon every time I set up a new device, because that's one part of the home screen layout that Smart Switch does not transfer to a new device. The Google Messages shortcut stays intact whether or not I was using it on my previous device.
The auto OTP deletion feature alone wasn't enough to make me switch from Samsung Messages to Google Messages, but thanks to Samsung's insistence on not remembering and respecting my preference when transfering data to a new phone, I have finally given up.
