One of the major announcements that Google made at the Google I/O in May 2016 was about the launch of two new apps called Google Duo and Google Allo. While the former was launched a few months ago, Google Allo became available for download at the Play Store just a few days ago.
Google Allo is definitely and amazing instant messaging app from Google and a worthy WhatsApp contender too, but the presence of already popular apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Facebook Messenger, it’s not certainly not going to be easy for Google Allo to make its mark. Only time will tell if the new app would be successful or not but if Google has to make it a preferred chat and messaging app among users who are already addicted to other options, it needs to have more features and options for customization.
Having used Google Allo for a day, the 2 things that impressed me most are the Google Assistant that really answers all your queries smartly and offers relevant stuff on demand. The big G seems to have concentrated all weapons from its armoury into Allo.
Google Allo Tips and Tricks
Today we’re here with a bunch of Google Allo tips and tricks to guide and help you with making the most out of the app.
Chat Privately with Incognito Mode in Google Allo
Privacy and security are one of the foremost things people care about in a chat or messaging app. While Google Allo does not have end-to-end encryption enable by default for all messages, it does offer end-to-end encryption and a smarter way to keep your chat messages private and secure from prying eyes. All you need to do for a private chat is to start a chat in the Incognito Mode:
- Tap the New Chat icon.
- Select Start incognito chat option.
- Now tap the contact name from the list of people you want to start a chat with.
When enabled, the chat content won’t show in the Allow conversation list. Moreover, the name of the sender or the message content will not display in the Notifications. You can even mute the notification tone for the incognito chat.
Setting Expiry Time in Incognito Mode
Incognito mode also allows you to set an expiry time for the chat messages. It means you can choose after how much time your messages should disappear: 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, or never. While the sender, the timer starts right after the message is sent, it starts as soon as the message is read by the receiver. The time setting for the sender and the receiver are the same but you can set a different timer each time you start a new chat.
You can set the message expiry timer in Incognito mode simply by tapping the Timer icon found on the top right corner of the screen.
Integrating Google Assistant in an Ongoing Chat
Google’s virtual assistant in Allo is a very interesting feature. You can talk to it anytime as it seems to be waiting for you to reply and say something all the time. It talks to you, can send a joke to you, give you weather updates on demand, make a search on Google for you, can directly take you to your Gmail inbox, and so on. According to Google, the virtual assistant will become better with time.
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