Google Messages will Stop Working on Uncertified Android Phones in April

Google Messages is one of the more popular apps from Google, and many users make use of it every day without even realizing that they use it. The name is rather generic, however, a lot of devices ship with it pre-installed as their default SMS and RCS client. But, soon some users will not be able to use it anymore. According to the latest report, Google Messages will Stop Working on Uncertified Android Phones from March 31, 2021, onwards.
The uncertified Android devices are those devices that run on Android, but skipped through or failed Google’s official certification process for Google Mobile Services. These devices do not come with the mandatory Google apps. However, the sellers of such devices usually have advisories on how users can sideload Google apps and service frameworks. To end such practices from device makers, Google has decided to stop the service.

Earlier, Google Messages could easily be sideloaded if you did not have it pre-installed. Moreover, it also didn’t need a Google sign-in to work on its own, so it would still work on all Android devices.
But this is now going to change. If you have an uncertified Android device, the app will not work. Google might have taken this decision because of its RCS End-to-End encryption feature. Google will also be not responsible if an uncertified device is compromised.

Technology