Is this something I should be enabling? I recently updated the messaing app on my phone (Good Messages), and this feature popped up. It looks interesting, kind of like a whatsapp type system where your phone number gets tied to the app, but it also seems like it might be very proprietary and may interfere with my ability to communicate with everyone like regular texting can.

Anyone know much about it and if it's worth enabling?

RCS is a standard like SMS or MMS and will eventually replace them. SMS relies on a cellular signal where as RCS does not. That means the RCS can remove the limitations of SMS like the 160 character limit, lack of read receipts, animated emojis, etc. It also works across all platforms/carriers. Basically it will function like iMessage but for all android phones. The catch is that right now it doesn't offer end to end encryption right now and isn't being adopted by Apple.

So this would only work with other android users that have also enabled RCS. If other person hasn't enabled it or its an iphone, those features won't work. It will be just like your current messaging features. You will eventually end up on RCS, its just a matter of when. I have no idea if Apple will eventually adopt RCS. I suspect until it has end to end encryption Apple with stick with iMessage.


I enabled it awhile back but most of my friends and family have iphones

Is this what the Verizon messaging app uses? When I made the switch to Android all my media messages I sent to friends became ***** Now they are only not **** to other people that use the Verizon messaging app.

JTA1029 said:

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Is this what the Verizon messaging app uses? When I made the switch to Android all my media messages I sent to friends became ***** Now they are only not **** to other people that use the Verizon messaging app.

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if you are going from and iPhone to an android thats going to happen. iMessage is an iOS specific version of RCS. It only works on iPhones but allows sharing of larger files via text. So now that you have switched to an android you are likely using SMS or MMS which can't handle really large files. When you send a MMS the file is compressed so it can be sent. Thats why the video file looks like trash.

Not saying its better/its certainly a pain in the butt, but riot.im looks interesting, if I understand the encryption description correctly/they aren't lying.

RCS: Govt can intercept your messages
iMessage: Govt can't