What you need to know
- Google Messages has removed the “Nudge” reply reminder and birthday reminder features from its latest beta version.
- Google has not provided a clear reason for the feature’s removal, and references to “Nudges” still appear on Google Messages’ support and Android landing pages.
- Introduced quietly in late 2021, the “Nudges” feature helped users by prompting replies to overlooked messages and providing reminders for birthdays.
Google Messages is getting rid of the “Nudge” reply reminder and birthday reminder features that many users found useful.
9to5Google noticed that the latest beta of Google Messages has removed the feature. We can confirm that it is no longer visible in beta version 20240430 of the messaging app.
If you go to Settings > Suggestions, you won’t see Nudges listed. But you’ll still find Smart Reply, Suggested Actions, Magic Compose, and Suggested Stickers there.
In late 2021, Google Messages quietly introduced the “Nudges” feature, and it was actually quite handy. It would, well, nudge you to respond to messages you might have overlooked or to follow up on ongoing conversations. Plus, for those of you who aren’t the best at remembering dates, it also offered helpful reminders for things like birthdays.
While you could add birthday reminders to your calendar, getting them right from an app you frequently use is a bit more handy. Also, constantly moving features around between apps can be off-putting.
Google hasn’t clearly explained why they removed the feature, and it’s still mentioned on Google Messages’ support page and the Android landing page. Google may have something better planned, but for now, its sudden removal is pretty puzzling.
The search giant will presumably address this at Google I/O later this month, where we might hear new features from Google, including something to replace “Nudges.” With AI increasingly handling these kinds of tasks, there’s a good chance we could see an AI-powered feature unveiled as a replacement.
It looks like this is happening with Gmail and other Google Workspace apps, where AI features are stepping in to boost productivity.