Google Messages on your Pixel phone might get 'Selfie GIFs' support soon

Google has lately been working diligently on adding new features to its popular messaging app, Google Messages. Notably, it introduced custom backgrounds, a new contacts page with the Material You carousel, and much more in December to elevate the overall user experience. The company also silently added support for a new feature called ‘Selfie GIFs’.

This functionality has been recently uncovered by TheSpAndroid, who managed to activate it via a hidden flag.

With this addition, one can, for sure, infuse more fun into their conversations. Google is currently allowing beta users to upload a four-second video and use it as a GIF while messaging. To trigger this functionality, you just need to long-press the camera attachment icon on the bottom typing bar.

Doing so will open a new window. In this window, you will find a rounded camera frame in the center and a camera switch button at the bottom side, allowing you to switch between the front and rear cameras.

Before you can actually record a video, a three-second timer will appear that gives you the flexibility to adjust yourself for the intended recording. After the app has completed the shoot, it will give you a preview of the captured footage. If you think that the client has recorded the video as per your needs, then you can send it right away by tapping the ‘Send’ button.

If that’s not the case, then you can press the ‘Reset’ button to restart the video recording process. Do note that the clipping will appear in a rounded frame in the chats as well.

Want to enable this feature on your Pixel phones? If so, install the latest beta of the Google Messages app. In addition to this, you also have to enable the debug menu. To do so, tap on the search icon, type *xyzzy*, and press enter. Now, tap on the ‘Debug’ option in the profile picture menu.

After this, select ‘Values’ and choose ‘Auto-ramp Overrides/Gservice keys’. Finally, you will be able to see all the feature flags available in the beta version of Google Messages. To activate ‘Selfie GIFs’, turn on the ‘@bugle.enable_selfie_gifs’ flag. That’s it; you have successfully enabled this functionality.