Google recently announced the celebration of 1 billion RCS users by pushing multiple new features for one of the best Android messaging apps, Google Messages. Well, the list of new features doesn't end there, as Google Messages is getting the ability to transform your photos into reactions via the Photomoji feature.
Google Messages is getting the Photomoji feature that lets you use them as reactions and stickers, giving users a new way to react to messages. According to the blog, the new Google Messages will inform you of the availability of the Photomoji feature if you start seeing a circular badge sitting over the emoji button inside the compose field.
The Google Messages Photomoji isn't widely rolling out yet
You can also add or create a new Photomoji by long-pressing the SMS text or RCS chat, scrolling to the end of the reactions bar, and tapping the ‘Create' button. Alternatively, you can use the Create button inside the emoji picker to create new Photomojis before sending them. Doing so will open the media picker for you to choose an image. Google Messages then highlights the images that you can turn into a reaction.
Do note that you cannot manually edit the created Photomoji. Google Messages will do it all by themselves through an automated process. Some manual control would have been nice, but Google's mechanism works pretty well. When the Google Messages Photomoji is sent, it will be delivered as a reaction. The size of the Photomoji is similar to all other emojis, so there isn't any prominence. However, you can tap on the Photomoji for a bigger preview.
Your Photomojis and what others send you will appear in a Custom tab next to Emoji, GIFs, and Stickers as well as in the reactions strip. Google Messages offers you the option to sort it by All, Yours, and Others. Notably, the Google Messages Photomoji feature isn't widely rolling out yet, and it is under the beta program.
