One fallout from Google’s terrible messaging situation is not just the fragmentation of all the various messaging “apps”, but the shoddy design and dev work that goes into each one.

Yesterday, I shared a video in Google Photos to my cousin. I wanted the video to be kept in it’s original quality, so I didn’t send it using MMS. I considered sending a link, but when I tapped “Share” to generate one, I saw the option to share it using some form of messaging app that exists in Google Photos (at least, I assumed it’s a messaging app, because what else would Google use).

I thought I’d give this a try, but I didn’t trust that the message would make its way to him. I’d hope at the very least it would send an email, so I naturally sent him an SMS asking whether he received it or not.

Turns out he did. In fact, he actually sent me a reply which… didn’t make its way to me. I got no notification, and I saw no reply in Google Photos. Didn’t even get an email.

Do people sharing photos in iOS have to deal with this?