Google has reportedly been working on a Profiles feature for its Messages app for quite some time now. This feature is designed to allow users to set their preferred name, photo, and other information for their contact card within the app.

The “Profiles” feature was discovered in an APK teardown by 9to5Google, which revealed more details about its functionality. According to the teardown, code was found in the latest beta version of Google Messages (v20231106_01_RC00) which describes Profiles as a way for users to “Choose your profile name & picture so people can recognize you.”

Although the feature is still in development, it seems that users will be able to create a profile containing their name, photo, and other details. This profile could then be shared with other Messages users, making it easier for them to identify each other in conversations.

“Profiles” was initially spotted in January as a preferences page in Android system settings, although it was not functional when turned on at the time. This suggests that Profiles could be a standalone feature managed by Google Messages, rather than being part of RCS.

If implemented, Profiles are likely to appear at the top of conversations in Google Messages. Tapping on a profile name or photo could then open a profile page with more information about the user, which other users could then save to the corresponding contact card.

Google has not yet announced a release date for the Profiles feature. However, given that it has been in development for several months and is now appearing in beta versions of the app, it is likely that it will be released in the near future.

The potential for Google Messages Profiles to be a significant new feature that would improve the messaging experience for users is clear. It will be interesting to see how Google implements Profiles and integrates them with other Messages features, such as RCS and group chats.