Over the years, Google Assistant has gained a lot of new features which helped improve user experience. As of now, Google Assistant cannot be used to send texts from the lock screen. Perhaps, this restriction was enforced for security reasons. Now Google is trying to change that and is thus testing a feature that lets you send texts directly from the lock screen.

The new feature was spotted on a server-side test and shows off Assistant sending a text directly from the lock screen. Furthermore, screenshots reveal that users can send a text from the lock screen by specifying the recipient’s name and confirming the same verbally. The lock icon on the top of the screenshot confirms that the device is in a locked state during the operation.

Currently, one needs to unlock the device by punching in your password or authenticating via face/fingerprint. If you try to send a text on the lock screen, Google Assistant will respond with “Unlock to continue” prompt. Since the feature is still being tested, it is not rolled out for all the devices. It is also possible that Google might decide to discard the feature for one reason or the other.

The new functionality worked on Pixel 3 running Android 9 Pie. For some, the feature has disappeared. This raises questions on whether the functionality is intentional or not. All said and done it is always better to have extra convenience while using Google Assistant. However, Google needs to ensure that the new feature is safe and secure. If released, the feature should be available on all Android devices.