Samsung shutters Messages app and shifts Android 12+ users to Google Messages

7 articles · Updated · ZDNet · May 5

The change takes effect in July, ending the proprietary app after nearly 16 years on Samsung phones.
Users are being urged to back up texts locally through Smart Switch or to Samsung Cloud and Google Drive before the app is discontinued.
Samsung had already made Google Messages the default on newer Galaxy devices, reflecting a broader handover of messaging infrastructure to Google for practical, security and cost reasons.

Is the switch to Google Messages a security upgrade or a major privacy downgrade for millions of Samsung users?

As Samsung cedes its messaging app to Google, can the unified Android platform finally challenge the dominance of Apple's iMessage?