WristMSG for Google Chat

The stock Wear OS Google Chat app lets you reply to Google Chat notifications, but only while they're still on your wrist.

The moment a notification expires or you dismiss it, that conversation is out of reach until the next one comes in.

WristMSG takes that limit away. Open the app on your watch, pick any contact you've messaged recently, and send a reply whenever you want. You don't have to wait for the other person to write first.

INSTALL ON BOTH DEVICES
WristMSG comes in two parts and you need both. Put it on your Android phone and on your paired Wear OS watch. The phone side reads your Google Chat and keeps your reply channels open in the background. The watch side is where you pick a contact and send. One half on its own does nothing, so if you install from your watch, grab the phone app too, and the other way around.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Send Google Chat messages from your watch anytime, without a live notification sitting on your wrist
- Type on the watch keyboard or reply by voice
- Choose which contacts and Chat spaces show up on the watch
- Keep reply channels open in the background so you can still send hours after the last message arrived

WHY I BUILT THIS
I've lived in the Google ecosystem for over twenty years, and Google Chat is how I keep up with friends and family. The problem on Wear OS is that you can only answer a message while its notification is still on screen. Miss that window and there's no app to bring the conversation back, so you either wait for the next message or reach for your phone.

That bugged me enough to build a fix. Now I message my recent contacts from my watch whenever I feel like it, no waiting for someone to write me first. As long as you're getting messages every few days, your reply channels stay open.

WHAT'S COMING
Recent chat history on the watch is in the works, so you'll be able to glance back at a bit of the conversation instead of replying blind. More to come!

HOW IT WORKS
WristMSG runs on your phone and your paired watch. On the phone it uses Android's notification access to read Google Chat notifications as they land, then hands them to the watch over the local Bluetooth link (Google Play Services' Wearable Data Layer). There is no WristMSG server. Your messages stay on your own two devices.

WHAT'S REQUIRED
- The WristMSG app on both your phone and your paired watch
- An Android phone on 8.0 or newer
- A Wear OS 3.0 or newer watch (tested on Pixel Watch 1 and 2; Galaxy Watch 4, 5 and 6 and other Wear OS 3+ watches should work too)
- Google Chat installed on the phone with notifications turned on
- Notification access granted the first time you open it

Letting the app run without battery restrictions keeps background delivery reliable, and it walks you through that on first launch. After a reboot, or if your phone has been closing background apps to save power, you might need to wait for one message to come in before you can reply. The app shows you which contacts are ready.

PRIVACY
No account, no sign-up, no server. No analytics, no tracking. Your chat content stays on your phone and watch, and the link between them runs over the encrypted Wearable Data Layer. Full policy: https://www.benri.tech/privacy/wristmsg

PERMISSIONS
- Notification access, to read incoming Google Chat notifications
- Foreground service, to keep your reply channels open so sends still work later
- Post notifications, for the small status notification while that service runs
- Run at startup, to bring the background service back after a reboot

WristMSG doesn't touch your contacts, location, camera, SMS or call logs, and it has no microphone access of its own. Voice replies go through the watch's built-in voice input.

SUPPORT
Questions, bugs or ideas: support@benri.tech

WristMSG is an independent app and isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google. Google Chat and Wear OS are trademarks of Google LLC.