What Is RCS Messaging and Why Should You Care?
Google has officially adopted the next generation “RCS” text messaging protocol, which doesn’t really matter right now if you don’t use its Google Fi service. However, the company is also pushing all carriers to migrate to RCS with SMS – a much-needed upgrade – and this will have a significant impact on your texting, selfies, and GIF creation.
What is RCS?
RCS (short for Rich Communication Services) is the next iteration of carrier text messaging technology, but has actually been around in one form or another since it was first proposed in 2007. The originally agreed RCS standard included a number of improvements over SMS. message exchange:
- 8000 character limit per message (up from 160 character limit for SMS)
- Supports read receipts and displays when another person is typing
- Web chat and cross-platform message sync
- Uses Wi-Fi and mobile data to send messages
- Group chat
- Built-in audio messaging support
- End-to-end message encryption
While these features may look like standard offerings in today’s most popular messaging apps , they represent a major upgrade from SMS – mostly translating a service like iMessage into an ancient format.
Unfortunately, implementation of RCS by mobile operators, developers and phone manufacturers did not really work out due to the availability of network and software updates required to implement it. Since RCS has recently received rave support from Google – the powerful arbiter of Android, the phone manufacturer and the service provider itself – changes are coming, but Google’s version of RCS is slightly different from the original RCS.
Introducing the Chat Protocol
You may have seen Google’s new text messaging technology called Chat. Although the name sounds like a dedicated application, Chat is actually an RCS protocol developed by Google in collaboration with several other manufacturers and carriers (formerly known as Universal Profile). It is basically identical to the original RCS with one major difference: Chat does not support end-to-end encryption.
The lack of end-to-end encryption is a glaring omission, but it’s not that surprising. Google is downsizing or repurposing its own encrypted messaging apps , including Allo and Hangouts, and instead inviting users to switch to the Android Messages app based on chat. Plus, Android Messages will soon become the default texting app on all Google phones and many other Android devices.
How to use RCS
To send and receive RCS messages, all parties to the conversation must use:
- RCS-enabled phone on the RCS-enabled network (s)
- Same chat / text messaging app based on universal profile
If any requirement is missing, your messages will be converted to SMS.
First, here’s where the major operators currently support RCS messaging:
- Google Fi: Full RCS support. All Pixel, Moto G6, LG V35, LG G7 phone models and Android One Moto X phones on the Google Fi network use Android chat-based messages as their default text app. Other Android phones on the Google Fi network must download the app manually .
- Verizon: RCS support for Pixel 3, RCS rollout to other phones in early 2019
- T-Mobile: RCS support on Samsung Galaxy S7 and S8 phones , and Note 8 and 9
- Sprint: Full RCS support
- AT&T: Future RCS Support Confirmed, But Not Implemented Yet
In addition, the GSMA announced that 68 other telecommunications companies have agreed to maintain a chat / universal profile, and many more are expected.
If you need to know if your messaging operator supports RCS or your favorite app, we recommend bookmarking this handy guide, which some Redditors at / r / UniversalProfile have worked on . This is a great way to see at a glance what you need to do to get RCS messaging to work on your device / carrier / app combination (if so).
Finally, a few words about Apple RCS support. iOS does not currently support RCS. However, iMessage includes many of the same features as RCS, but (obviously) only works when you are sending text messages between Apple devices. Apple recently announced its interest in future support for RCS, but no one knows yet what the timing of its rollout (if that happens) is.
Updated February 4, 2019 – This article has been updated from the original version where the Universal Profile was incorrectly named as the original RCS protocol name.