Be careful if you disable RCS in Google Messages, you could lose important data! The internet giant now displays a warning in the app.
As Apple finally agrees to support RCS – Rich Communication Servicesa communication protocol intended to replace SMS and MMS for exchanging messages on mobile phones – through iOS 18, after many years of refusal, Google continues to improve its Google Messages application, constantly bringing it closer to popular instant messengers, such as WhatsApp or Signal. Its instant messenger notably includes RCS, which allows you to have access to advanced functions such as sending images, videos, files or even creating groups. This also allows you to see when a message has been read or when your interlocutor writes a response. But be careful if you are tempted to deactivate the function, because this can cause you to lose important data. Google has just introduced a warning message on this subject in the interface.
RCS: a universal communication protocol
As a reminder, the RCS (for Rich Communication Services) is a communication protocol intended to replace the aging SMS and MMS for exchanging messages on mobile phones. Developed since 2012 by the main players in the telephony sector, RCS is both more sophisticated and richer than SMS, with functions similar to those offered by apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram or iMessage. Like these services, RCS goes through the Internet, or more precisely, through mobile data, while SMS uses the 2G cellular network.
Like SMS, it does not depend on any specific company or any particular app, unlike WhatsApp, Messenger or iMessage: you just need to use a compatible application – such as Google Messages – to exchange messages instantly, regardless of the telephone operator. It is not a proprietary format, but an open protocol. In short, it combines all the advantages of a standardized protocol like SMS with those of a “private” and modern messaging app.
RCS: be careful not to deactivate it at any time
It is entirely possible to disable RCS in the messaging settings. Be careful though! By doing so, you risk losing access to your group discussions on Google Messages. This deletion is not immediate, it occurs thirty days after the deactivation of the protocol.
To avoid any confusion, Google is now communicating more clearly about this, by displaying a warning message in the latest version of its application. “You cannot send or receive messages in group RCS chats at this time. You will be banned from all group RCS chats after thirty days.”can be read once the protocol is deactivated.
If you are planning to upgrade your phone from Android to an iPhone, however, make sure to check that RCS is disabled on your old smartphone. If you don’t, your old smartphone could continue to receive messages for days without you knowing.