Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has widely rolled out an “Unsubscribe” feature to the Messages app.
- Unsubscribe allows you to stop businesses from sending unwanted messages, like promotions or other non-essential content.
- The feature is available for the US, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, and the UK.
It’s not uncommon for a business to message you with information you need, like a package delivery time or a reminder about a scheduled appointment. While this is acceptable, what’s not acceptable is when they begin sending unsolicited messages about promotions and other things you didn’t ask for. Google Messages is now rolling out a feature to help you fight off spam like this.
Back in 2024, we did an APK teardown that revealed that Google Messages is getting a new “Unsubscribe” feature. This feature initially started rolling out in early April, but it’s now widely available.
When you open up a message sent from a business, you’ll now see an Unsubscribe button pop up above the text field. This feature can also be accessed by tapping on the chat menu and finding Unsubscribe among the list of options.
Ryan McNeal / Android Authority
When you tap on Unsubscribe, you’ll see a sheet slide up asking, “Why are you unsubscribing?” The sheet provides five options to choose from, including “Not signed up,” “Too many messages,” “No longer interested,” “Spam,” and “Other.” If you select Spam, you’ll be given a chance to report the sender, which will move the chat to “Spam & blocked.”
Ryan McNeal / Android Authority
As Google explains in its support document, tapping on Unsubscribe will send a “STOP” message to the sender from your number. This should result in you no longer receiving non-essential messages from that sender. The company also notes that:
- You may still receive essential, requested messages from them after unsubscribing, like one-time passwords or boarding passes requested from that business or confirmation of your unsubscribe request with information to further manage your communication preferences.
- If a business is unable to comply with your unsubscribe request because you’ve elected to stop receiving messages in your account, the business may instead redirect you to account settings to change your message notifications through your account.
Unsubscribe is slightly different than the blocking and reporting feature, which completely halts all communication. You can also resubscribe if you change your mind by going to the chat menu and tapping Subscribe.
This feature is available for RCS for Business messages in the US, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, and the UK. It’s also available for SMS and MMS messages in the US for short codes and alphanumeric senders.
