You can now schedule text messages to send later on Android — here’s how

Google recently announced a new feature for Android phones that lets you schedule text messages to send at a later time and date.

This will let you be the first to wish your friend a happy birthday at midnight, for example, or send a message to someone later before you forget what you wanted to say.

It’s easy to do. You just need a phone running Android 7 or newer — that version is about five years old, so your phone is probably supported — and the latest version of Google Messages. Here’s what to do.

• Download the latest version of Google Messages (you may already have it if you don’t see an update available).
• Open Google Messages on your Android phone and choose who you want to send a message to.
• Create your text.
• Tap and hold the send button (instead of just tapping it).
• A schedule menu pops up. Choose when you’d like to send it — either later today, later tonight, tomorrow or a date and time in the future.
• Tap send.

That’s it. After you’ve sent it, you’ll see a confirmation that it’s a scheduled message that won’t arrive to the recipient until your chosen date and time. Tap the clock icon next to the message to update it with new text, to send it immediately or to cancel it.