It seems that Google will allow us to know the identity of the person who sends us a message even without having their number saved in the address book: colleagues at Android Authority have discovered, rummaging through the intricacies of the code of the latest Beta version of the Messages app (messages.android_20240506_01_RC00.phone_samsung_openbeta_dynamic) in circulation on the Play Store. Basically, the sender will have to enable the Profile Discovery function, which as the name suggests allows other users to view the personal information that you decide to share in your profile.
The source explains that the sender’s name will appear in the notification of receiving the message, but it does not explain whether the same will also happen in the actual app, i.e. in the corresponding conversation thread. It makes perfect sense, but you never know. The work, moreover, is still in progress, and therefore even if it were not available now it is reasonable to assume that it will be available at the time of official launch.
At the moment it is possible make your profile public only by going to the web page dedicated to your Google account: a company support page explains that it is also possible to do it from Messages, but at present this is not true – another clear sign that the project is still under development. At least we know that, when/if the feature debuts officially, we will be able to manage this aspect directly from the app.
It is worth pointing out that at present it is not possible, even with the latest Beta, to enable this functionality without fiddling with the application a bit. The setting is hidden and not accessible with conventional systems. It is necessary to point out that as in all these similar cases there are no guarantees that the news will actually be made official, nor any reliable indications on possible timing.
