- An upcoming Google Pixel update could bring a new way to organize chats from your favorite contacts
- The new Besties app supposedly allows you to combine incoming communications from various apps
- References to WhatsApp have been found in code, and we expect Google Messages will be compatible by default
Google is releasing a new app exclusively for Pixel phones that will allow users to bring together messages, calls, and group chats from various messaging services.
The new Besties app will allow users to centralize messages from chosen contacts across Google Messages, WhatsApp, and presumably other messaging and calling apps.
An APK teardown by Android Authority revealed the Besties app in code from a supposedly upcoming update – Besties appears to be maintaining a database within Android, which WhatsApp has been shown to be able to access.
In fact, it seems that WhatsApp is only able to access Besties due to a special permission given by Google, which suggests a degree of collaboration between the two.
It tracks that other messaging services will be able to access the database too – though there’s no way to say for certain, I’d like to see Discord, Microsoft Teams, and other Meta services like Facebook Messenger and Instagram included in the new Besties app.
One app to rule them all
If Besties makes it to release, it’ll mark another step in Google’s ongoing work to make communication easier across platforms and services, which also includes its championing of RCS texting between Android and iPhone.
In theory, there’d be nothing stopping a user from adding all of their contacts to the Besties app and using it as an aggregator for all their mobile communications.
This doesn’t seem to be the intended use case, though, and I imagine most users will be a touch more selective with who gets to added.
I’m personally a fan of Google’s Pixel-exclusive apps, which add a sense of flair and exclusivity to the best pixel phones.
In previous years, Google Pixel devices were considered to run a “clean” or “stock” version of Android, which I’m sure appealed to minimalist users, but useful, specific apps and features like Besties, Screenshots, and Now Playing give the Google Pixel 9 series and its predecessors a certain appeal against rivals like the iPhone 16 or Samsung Galaxy S25.
Anyway, enough of what I think – What do you make of this rumored Google messaging tool? Would you use the Besties app? Let us know in the comments section below.
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jamie.richards@futurenet.com (Jamie Richards)
