How to Use Google Allo, A Smart Messaging App

Google Allo has arrived for Android smartphones and iPhone. The smart messaging app is Google’s another effort to make an impact in the world of instant messengers. The smart messaging app comes with the brand-new Google Assistant, which should ensure that you never need to leave the messaging app to search for places, news, weather or any other queries. Likewise, there’s the cool smart reply, which makes the app significantly more fun.

 How to use Google Allo on your smartphone:

Getting Started

If you’ve installed Google Allo from the Play Store or the App Store, the first thing that Allo will ask you, is permissions. At that point, you should register your mobile phone number, just like other messaging apps.

Once done, the app will ask you to put up a profile picture. You can take a picture or you can choice one from the Gallery. Then, enter your name and you are good to go. You will be received by the brand-new Google Assistant.

Features in Allo:

Basic Features and How to Use Them

• Incognito Chat

Allo needs end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp, it does bring an incognito chat feature, similar to Telegram’s Secret Chats feature. You can begin an Incognito chat by tapping the new message floating icon and then, tapping on “Start incognito chat“. You can then select a contact and the incognito chat will be started.

In incognito chat, the messages are end-to-end encrypted and there are additional privacy features like discreet notifications. Likewise, you can set an expiration otherwise known as self-destruct timer on messages. You can set the timer by tapping on the top right timer icon and selecting the time.

• Stickers

Unlike WhatsApp, Allo includes support for stickers, which is some great news for people who like chatting through stickers. You can send a sticker in a chat by tapping the plus button and then, going to the fourth option at the bottom. The messaging app comes with three sticker packs installed but you can always download more.

• Shout or Whisper a message

Allo gives you a chance to shout or whisper a message, which is nothing but the ability to increase or decrease the font size of text before you send it. It’s easy to use. simply type in a text and press hold the send button, which will begin a slider which you can use to increase or decrease text’s font size. This should come in accessible when you need to show how excited you are or when you are uninterested.

• Photo Editing

Recently WhatsApp brought the ability to drawing and edit images before you send it. Allo comes with the feature as well. After your choice, a photo or capture a photo to send, you can be drawing on it with different colors or add text to it. A pretty simple feature but quite accessible.

• Other features

Allo packs in the usual messaging features like group chats, voice messages, ability to share photos, videos and location. There are also features like read receipts, custom notifications, mute contacts or groups, search chats and ability to block contacts.

Smart Reply

Now, we should come to the features that are supposed to make people use Allo. One of those features is Smart Reply. It’s only AI-based reply suggestions to texts and photos in the app.

It even brings you reply suggestions when a picture is send.

Google claims that Smart Reply will get even better over time, as it learns from your style of talking.

Google Assistant

Allo features the “preview edition” of Google Assistant and it already looks great. There are two ways to access Google Assistant in Allo. You can directly talk to the assistant through its separate chat thread or you can trigger it any chat or group chat by typing @google and typing in your query.

It’s powered by Google Search, so you can get different results like weather info, flight info, news, nearby places, navigate, play games, translate languages and much more. You can even use it to set an alarm or a reminder.

Google Assistant features a personality, like Siri and Cortana, so you can talk to it, ask it to sing a song, tell a joke and more. In addition, Google integrates it other services as well, so if you search for a YouTube video, you can play it right inside Allo. For example, you can just ask, “Show me some new trailers” and it’ll bring YouTube videos you can watch.

Essentially, you get all of the Google power right inside Allo. In addition, it will learn more about you over time to bring you better responses.