What does this incarnation of RCS mean? Relentlessly Cancelled Services?
RCS for Business
31–40 of 67 posts
Re: RCS for Business
#32It's unfortunate that RCS is basically a de-facto Google walled garden in most countries. On android you can only use RCS in the Google Messages app and trying to build your own is explicitly blocked. [1] And of course the bonus that rooted devices are banned from RCS. All the propaganda Google spread to get Apple onboard (only with Google's blessing of course, Google could kick apple off if they wanted) was such a b…
> trying to build your own is explicitly blocked Google doesn't offer an RCS API, but making your own API is not blocked, especially not on phones running MicroG. For standard ROMs, RCS apps are not feasible because carriers expect interaction with the SIM module, and only privileged apps can do that. Google Messages blocks root access (probably because the RCS spec says they have to if they ever implement the money…
> LineageOS, GrapheneOS, /e/, and all the others could build their own RCS client
And it will be useless. They likely won't be able to connect to their mobile network's RCS or to Google's RCS. A user with an official Android phone will be able to reach you only over regular SMS.
The way RCS works, the mobile _operator_ uses your corresponder's phone number to look up their RCS server. So that's also why RCS connectivity is so patchy, not all cell phone operators peer with each other.
> I get why people want Google to just stuff their RCS library into open source Android the same way they do SMS/MMS, but to say it's impossible to write a client for, especially when running at the permission level MicroG runs at, is not the whole truth.
It is. The Google's RCS endpoint requires attestation that is available through Play API only.
My personal advice is to avoid RCS at all costs, and use something that is not infested by mobile phone operators or Apple.
Re: RCS for Business
#33What does this incarnation of RCS mean? Relentlessly Cancelled Services?
Seriously, define acronyms on your landing page. Is that so hard?
Re: RCS for Business
#34It's unfortunate that RCS is basically a de-facto Google walled garden in most countries. On android you can only use RCS in the Google Messages app and trying to build your own is explicitly blocked. [1] And of course the bonus that rooted devices are banned from RCS. All the propaganda Google spread to get Apple onboard (only with Google's blessing of course, Google could kick apple off if they wanted) was such a b…
> trying to build your own is explicitly blocked Google doesn't offer an RCS API, but making your own API is not blocked, especially not on phones running MicroG. For standard ROMs, RCS apps are not feasible because carriers expect interaction with the SIM module, and only privileged apps can do that. Google Messages blocks root access (probably because the RCS spec says they have to if they ever implement the money…
> They may not be able to register with Google, but they can make an RCS app nonetheless.
They can make a "standards compliant" RCS which will be able to connect to literally zero carriers or servers on the planet.
In fact Google Messages "RCS" doesn't even implement the RCS standard. They use a proprietary protobuf api exclusive to Google. Google messages can't connect to any "RCS" servers except Google's.
> Twilio has RCS too
Twilio, Bandwidth etc. are gatekept by Google and are basically just a middleman reselling Google's product.
Re: RCS for Business
#35If RCS is supposed to be an open standard, then how come Google can gatekeep the "for business" bit for themselves?
They don't ( https://www.twilio.com/en-us/messaging/channels/rcs , https://www.cm.com/rcs/ , https://www.linkmobility.com/en-gb/channels/rcs , https://gatewayapi.com/rcs/ , https://www.productsupport.esendex.com/what-is-rcs-messaging... , the list goes on). Google makes RCS servers for carriers, host RCS themselves for carriers without RCS servers, and builds the most used RCS client app, so it makes sense that they'…
Twilio, Bandwidth etc. are gatekept by Google and are basically just a middleman reselling Google's product.
Every single customer on the planet reachable via "RCS for Business" is through Google's servers and the Google Messages app.
Re: RCS for Business
#36I'm pretty unclear about how the experience they showcase in the video would work on iOS. Maybe Android has APIs for this, but on iOS it looks like RCS just supports green-bubble messages, links and files/multimedia. But in the demo they show multi-choice cards, carousels, cards with buttons, and reply auto-suggestions. Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it also looks like this needs to be agent-initiated, ie…
> it also looks like this needs to be agent-initiated, ie. you can't add a "Text us" button that will take you to this experience.
This is correct as of when I researched RCS capabilities. Not sure if it's changed at all but it was a deal breaker for me.
Re: RCS for Business
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
RCS is a standard, but it needs hosted services for providers. Providers can either host themselves, or contract with someone like Google Jibe Cloud. Also, Google provides services for Android for providers that don't have it. iPhone depends on the provider so has less coverage.
> Providers can either host themselves Outside of China, it is de facto a Google thing due to Jibe not really in mood to interconnect with others, plus the fact that Google actually shoehorns RCS in countries where they think they can get away with it. Your statement "iPhone depends on the provider so has less coverage" basically bares this one. Two example: 1. Japan has already a different provider-supported thing +…
> plus the fact that Google actually shoehorns RCS in countries where they think they can get away with it.
This is the real thing that nails down "RCS" as a totally google thing. Google will forcefully enable RCS for people on carriers that want nothing to do with it. And in that case Google controls the entire process every single step of the way.
Re: RCS for Business
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Providers can either host themselves Outside of China, it is de facto a Google thing due to Jibe not really in mood to interconnect with others, plus the fact that Google actually shoehorns RCS in countries where they think they can get away with it. Your statement "iPhone depends on the provider so has less coverage" basically bares this one. Two example: 1. Japan has already a different provider-supported thing +…
Re: lawful interception, when carriers switch to IMS registration (as required by Apple) they should also get access to Jibe's standardized API for law enforcement tools (there's a spec for that, I forgot its name). However, just the fact RCS payloads are E2EE in Android-to-Android communications (and soon Android-to-iOS too, hopefully) might already be illegal in some places. Google flip-flopping around its mobile I…
Hate to agree, but with the underhanded tactics that Google is pulling with RCS, Meta is actually the sane and ethical company in the room.
Re: RCS for Business
#39Not really sure why this was posted today. However, I see a lot of confusion / misinformation in the comments, so here is a simplified explanation of how RCS works, while recognizing the topic is more complex technically and commercially. (Source/disclaimer: I am a product manager at Twilio and work on RCS.)
Google bought Jibe Mobile in 2015. [1] The GSMA Universal Profile (UP) defines the industry standard for RCS features. [2] Messaging apps (for example, Google Messages or Messages on iOS) implement those features, and carriers expose them through a MaaP (Messaging as a Platform). The GSMA publishes UP updates periodically; UP v3 was released in February 2025 [3], though the latest publicly iOS version supports UP v2.4.
Most carriers globally now use Google’s Jibe MaaP instead of building their own as Google Messages supports the Jibe MaaP. That choice reduced the fragmentation that previously produced many inconsistent Android messaging experiences. In addition, I believe E2EE encryption was only added to the UP in v3, Google had previously added it to Google Messages outside of the spec, as as a result only worked when both users are using Google Messages.
iOS Messages can technically support any MaaP because the downloaded carrier profile specifies which MaaP URL to use.
A MaaP supports both person-to-person (P2P) and application-to-person (A2P) RCS. P2P RCS uses phone numbers. Carriers generally do not enable RCS on the business phone numbers companies use for SMS today. For A2P RCS, businesses must create a chatbot/agent entity in the MaaP with its own image, display name, and contact details. Google’s MaaP provides an interface for businesses to create those RCS agent profiles; carriers then approve which agents may message subscribers on their networks. Theoretically this also helps make it easier for messaging clients to reduce spam / fraud, since traffic from legitimate business will be more distinguishable from P2P fraudulent traffic—both from a technical perspective (phone number vs chatbot/agent entity) as well as from an end user experience (verified and branded display vs anonymous phone number).
If you're a business / brand, interested in getting started with RCS, check out this page with more info on how to get started with RCS: https://www.twilio.com/en-us/messaging/channels/rcs
1. https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/30/google-acquires-jibe-mobil... 2. https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/netwo... 3. https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/netwo...
Re: RCS for Business
#40I'm pretty unclear about how the experience they showcase in the video would work on iOS. Maybe Android has APIs for this, but on iOS it looks like RCS just supports green-bubble messages, links and files/multimedia. But in the demo they show multi-choice cards, carousels, cards with buttons, and reply auto-suggestions. Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it also looks like this needs to be agent-initiated, ie…
This page is specifically talking about A2P (Application to Person) RCS with business messaging rather than Person to Person (P2P). The rich message types shown in the demo are only available for A2P / businesses.
Not a ton of businesses were interested in using RCS until Apple said they would support it. Businesses are now starting to adopt RCS, but for a variety of reasons it'll take a while for it to replace SMS / MMS.
I posted some more info above. Also, it is possible to create a "text us" button, but support (especially on iOS) is flakey. Carriers are not enabling RCS on the numbers businesses use for SMS / MMS in order to help eliminate spam.