IF YOU'VE got an Android phone, you're in luck – a new messaging app is landing on your gizmo.

Like Apple's iMessage, the tool is a hefty upgrade to standard text messaging that shows you read receipts and lets you see when contacts are typing.

2 Android chat is rolling out in the UK this month Credit: Google

You'll also be able to ping your mates high-quality photos with ease.

Essentially, the tool – which relies Rich Communication Services (RCS) – is a bit like WhatsApp, but will come pre-loaded on all future Android phones.

Existing devices will get it in an update being rolled out in the UK this month.

The one drawback is that Google has skimped on data protection for now.

2 Android phones are getting a rival version of iMessage (stock) Credit: Alamy

Whereas iMessages are end-to-end encrypted – meaning the contents of your chats are scrambled to block out outsiders – Android's chats won't be to start with.

That means hackers could break into your phone and read the messages, or that governments could request and access your data.

So if you're even partially concerned about privacy, you're probably better off sticking with WhatsApp on Android.

For the uninitiated, RCS is a messaging standard that will allow for free chats between Android users on different mobile networks.

The way it works is straightforward: You send a text through the Messages app on your Android phone and a user on a compatible network will receive it as a Chat free of charge over Wi-Fi.

It'll eat in to your data allowance if sent over 4G, and will be sent as a regular SMS to those who don't have Chat enabled – including iPhone users.

What is end-to-end encryption? It's available by default on WhatsApp, but how does the privacy feature work? Encryption stops unauthorised access to your data, from emails to WhatsApp chats, by locking down communication between the parties involved.

This is done by "scrambling" the messages sent from one person to another into a code that looks like gibberish to anyone else.

Only you and the recipient can decrypt the jumbled-up content into a readable condition, which is done using unique "keys" granted to the users involved.

WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram all enable end-to-end encryption by deafult

While Facebook Messenger gives you the option to manually turn it on for individual conversations.

Google says the service will roll out to Android fans in the UK and France this month after US users got their hands on it last year.

Meanwhile the company will continue to cram more features into the Android messaging app, and is even planning a Chat service for the web.

The overhauled app is expected to draw in new Android users, but Google will have a hard time swaying those already signed up to the likes of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

The company was forced to shut down its Allo messaging app in March after it struggled to compete with its bigger rivals since launching in September 2016.

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Will you use the new Android feature? Let us know in the comments!

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