Samsung kills messaging app, urges users to move to Google Messages

Samsung Google Messages — Image by Cybernews

Samsung has announced it will terminate its Samsung Messages service, and users of certain devices are asked to transition over to Google Messages.

Samsung Messages has finally been put on death row after the company announced the app's end almost a year ago. Now, users are furious that Samsung has asked them to transition to Google Messages. But user privacy was never in the hands of Samsung users.

The shift is not surprising, as Samsung had previously announced its plans to sunset the service after quietly disabling its alternative to Google Messages.

Samsung Message will be discontinued by July 2026, Samsung said via its US site, and from today, users won’t be able to download the app to their devices.

While the transition offers all the bells and whistles associated with Google (like Gemini integration and the experimental feature Remix, which lets users manipulate images using AI), privacy-conscious users looking to steer clear of Google’s data-hungry practices might have something to say about it.

Curious what others think about this story? Contribute your thoughts to the debate below.

Reddit users were particularly spooked by the transition, with many claiming the switch puts an end to Samsung device security.

A redditor posted to the r/SamsungGalaxy subreddit, complaining that Google and artificial intelligence have invaded every part of the device ecosystem.

“I chose Samsung so I could have some semblance of freedom and choice. As a consumer, those choices are being taken away, and I certainly didn't want or consent to this happening.”

Google is notorious for data harvesting and collects troves of information through active searches and via passive means, such as website cookies and location data.

This allows Google to create a personalized user profile, which is then used in targeted advertising.

The tech giant even discloses that “when you use our services, you’re trusting us with your information,” and acknowledges that this is a “big responsibility” that Google “works hard to protect.”

Yet, Google, much like any other tech company that collects data, has been the subject of various data breaches and lawsuits involving Epstein victims.

This suggests that once companies like Google collect your data on a large scale, you have no say in how that data is used or stored.

Some people who use Google services might be confused as to why Android users are so upset by the change.

This is particularly strange as Cybernews previously explained that all Android users are essentially doomed to use Google’s services in some capacity.

Samsung devices are preloaded with the Google app ecosystem, including the Google Play Store and other Google-made apps.

While some redditors claim they use a Samsung to retain some semblance of choice as a consumer, others state that they “don’t want Google scanning (their) messages and pictures” when using Google Messages.

The bad news is that this is basically unavoidable when using a Samsung device.

An app created by Google on the Google Play Store was quietly downloaded onto Samsung devices last year.

The SafetyCore system is available on Samsung 9 devices and higher, which scans users' phones for incoming images that may be triggering or contain unsolicited content.

This in itself shows that, to some extent, Google is scanning your Samsung device, as the company silently installed it without warning.

While the app doesn’t share information with Google off the device, according to Forbes, it shows just how entrenched Google is in Android systems.