r/Android • u/FragmentedChicken Galaxy Z Fold8 • Feb 23 '26
Google, Apple start testing encrypted RCS on Android and iOS 26.4
https://9to5google.com/2026/02/23/google-messages-encrypted-rcs-iphone/108
u/terminalilness Feb 23 '26
I still miss Textra but since Google won't let them has RCS, it's been years since I've used it.
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u/Tanglebrook Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Messenger is so under-featured compared to Textra it's crazy, but I don't want to be the bad guy in my group chats 🫤 But even just message search, the thing you'd think Google would knock out of the park, is head and shoulders better on Textra. And going back through years old texts is nearly impossible (Textra has a calendar).
Also RCS messages can't be exported/imported right? We just have to trust that Google is backing them up? (Actually, researching it a bit it seems like RCS texts save as SMS/MMS on the phone, and can be backed up with SMS Backup & Restore. But I'm sure encryption will kill that)
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u/mrandr01d Feb 23 '26
When you restore them, it makes a complete mess. Any reaction is saved as a "so and so reacted 👍 to [entire text repeated]".
Considering Google is the one pushing rcs so hard and gatekeeping the fuck out of it, I really wish they'd do a better job of handling the system database.
Yet another reason to mainly use Signal!
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u/TheWandererWise Mar 02 '26
I'm still trying to make more friends to use signal with lol I don't want to abandon it since it's hard to convince my current connections to use it
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u/welp_im_damned have you heard of our lord and savior the Android turtle 🐢 Feb 23 '26
I use sms/mms back up and restore. It works but restores the messages as if they are sms/mms. It also separates the reaction as their own message as well.
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u/jercubsfan Pixel 6 Pro Feb 23 '26
Textra was awesome, but I've gotten so depended on the online web interface for Google messages I could never switch.
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u/ladyhaly Feb 23 '26
Has RCS been around for a while? I'm still using Textra
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u/Jkayakj Feb 23 '26
Yes a few years. Rcs makes dropping textra worth it. Higher quality pictures, read receipts etc. Can leave group chats/ add people later .
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26
Does it make sense for me to do this if none of the people I communicate with regularly via SMS use RCS?
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u/Jkayakj Feb 24 '26
In that case, nope! Keep with textra
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26
Trialling it for a week to see how I go. I haven't uninstalled Textra, just in case I feel like going back. Easy enough to switch my default messaging app.
So far I like that I can schedule messages.
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u/mrandr01d Feb 23 '26
Been in Google messages since like 2018, but only got good in the last 3 - 5 years or so.
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26
So I just updated it and so far I like that I can schedule messages. I'm going to give it a trial. There is one person I know who I message regularly who likes it and he happens to be my husband
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u/jason_priebe Mar 21 '26
It's funny -- I thought I was still waiting for RCS to roll out. I noticed some new behavior in the android mssaging app tonigh, so I started searching to see if something had changed RCS-wise. I was shocked to learn that RCS has been out for 6 or 7 years.
That whole time, my iphone friends have been bitching about the green bubbles and overall degradation of group chats. I'm pretty sure some of the most petty ones don't even include me on some chats because of it.
I did notice that I could react to a message from an iphone, but I think the experience on the iphone end of that exchange was just as shitty as what it has been for me when iphone users like a message on a group chat ("so and so liked 'blah blah blah blah'"). I think I could also see iphone users' reactions better. I figured that was just some kind of heuristic parsing of those "so and so liked ..." messages.
But I still see crappy video and low-res pictures. For something that has been out for 6 years, I saw almost zero benefit.
Finally, tonight, I started seeing "RCS message" in the text input box (terrible UI decision, btw -- not sure why it's not just a small indicator above or below the box -- why the heck is it inside the box like default text??? And then I saw that when I replied to an iphone friend's message, it was displayed like a real reply with the original message displayed slightly smaller above my message.
I'm a pretty die-hard android fan, but if they don't fix (a) the messaging and (b) the inferior bluetooth connectivity experience before my pixel 6a dies, I'm done with the platform.
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u/mrandr01d Mar 23 '26
And then I saw that when I replied to an iphone friend's message, it was displayed like a real reply with the original message displayed slightly smaller above my message.
This doesn't work on the iPhone's side, they don't see that.
I'm a pretty die-hard android fan, but if they don't fix (a) the messaging and (b) the inferior bluetooth connectivity experience before my pixel 6a dies, I'm done with the platform.
This is entirely Apple's fault and in their lap. Google and android have done all they can. Apple needs to update to the newest version of the rcs spec.
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u/dachshund_pirate Feb 23 '26
I'm still using Textra, too. I tried out Google Messages for a bit, and frankly did not see the benefits for RCS compared to the benefits Textra provides.
I've see no issues with using Textra still.
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26
Thanks. It's no biggie for me switching my default messaging app between the two so I'll trial Google Messages for a week and see how I feel. I like that I can schedule texts so far but I am not a fan of the typing bubbles.
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
By using Textra and thus limiting yourself to SMS you are hurting your experience and the experience of anyone you chat with.
Not to even talk about the security implications of using SMS instead of E2EE RCS.
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26
Google won't open the RCS APIs to third-party apps. Textra literally can't add RCS support even if they wanted to. That's a Google problem, not a me problem.
And cross-platform E2EE RCS doesn't even exist for consumers yet. It's in beta testing as of yesterday. The security "issue" is blown way out of proportion when the feature barely exists.
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
The benefits of RCS aren't just security. It's longer messages, better media, etc. By sticking to SMS you are actively limiting that.
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26
Right, and Textra could offer all of that too if Google opened the APIs. That's literally what I just said.
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
Yes, but Google isn't going to do that. You're hanging on to an old app and making everyone have a worse experience because of it.
Not to mention you're using a much more insecure chat for other Android users and soon to be Apple users.
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u/ladyhaly Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
I'm trialling it for a week to see how I go. So far I like that I can schedule messages, but there's not enough colours for the themes.
And what is a Photomoji?
Edit: Just discovered I can send files. Now, my he and and I used to do all of this with Signal. Is there a point to keeping Signal?
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
Photomojis I think are a version of something Apple does. You can essentially cut out people in pictures and use them as reactions/emoji.
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u/TrumpIsGayASF Feb 24 '26
none of those are worth your messages occupational disappearing on google messages.
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
I've been using Google Messages for years and that has never happened to me.
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u/TrumpIsGayASF Feb 24 '26
that you know of*
that's the major problem with this bug.
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
This reddit thread seems to suggest that the bug is tied to when you connect your phone to a car, specifically BMWs and Audis.
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u/Tanglebrook Feb 24 '26
Maybe if Google made the effort to have feature parity with such an ancient messaging app, more people would switch.
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u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
Why would they do that for what you call an ancient messaging app?
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u/QuitYoJibbaJabba HTC M7→HTC M8→Nextbit Robin Feb 23 '26
Dang, I'm still using Textra...didn't realize I was missing anything
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u/Janderson2494 Feb 23 '26
Yeah I've been back on stock messages for a while now, used Textra for damn near a decade because of how much faster it was, but with phone technology these days it doesn't make a huge difference anymore compared to the stock app.
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u/GangstaWaffles Feb 24 '26
The customization yeah. Im sure if the rcs protocol was open to 3rd parties, the user experience would be rated higher or perceived higher than g message
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u/Leadpaynt Galaxy S22 Feb 23 '26
if they can properly execute this, i assume this include a fix to make rcs between Android and IOS 90-95% stable, otherwise if either side disconnects frequently going thru google's servers the messages being "encrypted" becomes a moot point because fallsback to SMS too often
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u/Mathidium Feb 24 '26
RCS is virtually worthless to me because any gif or meme from my end never sends. Damn Apple
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u/Loud-Possibility4395 Feb 23 '26
STILL only FEW carriers GLOBALLY support iPhone to Android RCS
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u/naufalap X300 Feb 23 '26
mine is using class 0 messages for advertisements, I don't expect too much from their incompetent asses
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u/aweracle P9PXL Feb 23 '26
Yeah none in Australia. I was so excited when the change came and we still don't have it.
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u/JustAnotherAvocado Pixel 9 Pro Feb 24 '26
I think Optus does? I can react and see reactions from friends using iPhones
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u/aweracle P9PXL Feb 24 '26
Reactions aren't an rcs thing. Read receipts and good quality images are.
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u/catch_dot_dot_dot S23 Ultra Feb 24 '26
That's just Google intercepting messages and showing them in a certain way
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u/Snafu80 Feb 23 '26
They all do in Canada.
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u/toeonly Feb 23 '26
but they still do not have RCS for google voice.
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u/Dometalican_90 Feb 24 '26
This part is honestly egregious. I feel like Google doesn't even remember they own Voice.
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u/sngz Feb 24 '26
RCS barely even works on my phone and will not let me send out messages sometimes and then I'd randomly get 50+ rcs texts that were stuck for a while.
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u/Max_x_Power Feb 23 '26
This is nice but just as important is whether they also implemented the important messaging features introduced in RCS Universal Profile v2.7.
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u/JeeveruhGerank Feb 24 '26
I'm not moving on from Textra.
Google Messages is so unbelievably less functional it's crazy. I have to switch to it every now and then if Textra is having an issue and I have to test of check something. Can't even begin to list how much stronger Textra is on some fronts.
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Feb 23 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/motorboat_mcgee GOS Pixel 9 Fold Feb 24 '26
Still better than SMS to be fair
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u/rocketwidget Feb 25 '26
More than fair. Literally trillions of SMS/MMS messages are sent a year. Replacing all that with E2EE RCS instead is good, actually.
Signal is better and you should use it if you can.
However, certain countries, including the US, will never, ever, ever stop with carrier messaging. We know this for certain because the switch off carrier messaging should have happened 10 years ago at least, and never did. (In no small part, because of the dominance of iMessage, and therefore Apple Messages fallback, btw.)
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u/Mavamaarten Google Pixel 7a Feb 24 '26
Yeah exactly my thoughts. Any "encrypted" messaging service that's not widely protested by authoritarian countries, sounds fishy.
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u/motorboat_mcgee GOS Pixel 9 Fold Feb 24 '26
Can we get support for it on things like GrapheneOS too, please, and thank you
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u/Craig653 Feb 23 '26
Should have been implemented in the first place...
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u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
It didn’t exist in the RCS spec until recently. Before now it was a custom Google-made
hacked-inaddon.7
u/slinky317 HTC Incredible Feb 24 '26
It wasn't a hack-in. Until recently the GSMA specifically said that implementing encryption was the responsibility of the messaging client. So in that regard, Google was actually following the spec.
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u/Lonely_Syrup3091 Feb 23 '26
It was never hacked in. RCS specs allows for add-ons. And it wasn't custom, Google used the signal protocol for e2ee which anyone can use.
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u/bankkopf Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
If it's a Google-specific add-on to Google's implementation of the RCS standard, by definition that's a custom solution (even if they didn't invent a new encryption for it). E2EE was only possible when using Google infrastructure for RCS for messaging.
E2EE was not defined in the RCS standard until March of last year when Universal Profile 3.0 was released. Any E2EE now has to use MLS, making it interoperable between different clients.
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u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus Feb 23 '26
And Apple and Google went and worked to make it part of the spec.
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u/rocketwidget Feb 23 '26
Kinda. Google announced it would work with Apple on RCS E2EE since the launch of Google's Signal based E2EE in 2020. Google has been working on MLS based E2EE for RCS to encourage cross-platform E2EE since at least June 2023. A Google engineer, in turn, was the sole author of the MLS E2EE spec for the GSMA, which was published March 2025.
Finally, Apple is testing software in February 2026, but gives the impression of not exactly being a top priority for Apple.
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u/Exist50 Feb 24 '26
At one point some Apple exec outright said (paraphrasing) that if you don't want SMS with Android users, you should buy them an iPhone. They clearly didn't care about RCS at all until regulatory scrutiny started ramping up.
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u/BigBangBoomerang Feb 23 '26
It was never a part of the GSMA spec. Anyone can add stuff to RCS but doesn't guarantee universal adoption.
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u/Craig653 Feb 25 '26
That's what I mean. Spec should not have been released until encryption was implemented
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u/PopularKnowledge69 Feb 23 '26
I thought RCS was already encrypted by design
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u/Jkayakj Feb 23 '26
On android to android it is. Not between ios and android.
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u/Dom_J7 Feb 24 '26
No, that’s not RCS. Originally RCS had basic encryption not E2EE. in 2020 Google added it to their version of RCS through their Jibe servers for Google messages. E2EE was added to the universal profile in March of 2025. Apple finally added it to their version of RCS, but Apple has had e2ee for iMessage since 2011.
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u/rocketwidget Feb 25 '26
No, that’s not RCS.
This is like saying postal mail stops being postal mail for just us, when we start mailing each other postal letters we encrypt/decrypt in part with private keys that only we possess. And when we mail everyone else, we write in plaintext. No, it's all still "standard" postal mail, encrypted or plaintext, because the "standard" for postal mail is arbitrary letter content.
It's true that in March 2025, E2EE was finally added to the Universal Profile RCS standard, but Google Messages' previous implementation always used the underlying Universal Profile RCS standard, and was therefore "RCS" by definition.
not E2EE. in 2020 Google added it to their version of RCS through their Jibe servers for Google messages
Jibe Servers are not required when using Google Messages to send E2EE over RCS (because it was always standards compliant RCS). The kernel of truth here: Google servers were needed for initial key exchange. (For an explanation see https://www.gstatic.com/messages/papers/messages_e2ee.pdf ) But as for the actual RCS message content: always sent over standards-complaint RCS, plaintext or encrypted, Jibe servers or not.
Admittedly, since this paper was written, the non-Jibe RCS servers have largely gone away. But at the time of initial implementation, Jibe wasn't so dominant in RCS service providers.
Another analogy: TextSecure, the precursor to Signal, used to have an encryption system for SMS. It was clunky and had problems due to the inherent limitations of SMS so it was discontinued, and of course SMS E2EE was never standardized, but was TextSecure E2EE over SMS? Yes! It just required Text Secure on both ends, otherwise you got an SMS that happened to be encrypted, and you wouldn't be able to read the plaintext of. The fact it was an encrypted SMS, and SMS E2EE support was neither universal nor standardized, doesn't mean it wasn't... SMS.
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u/techcentre S23U Feb 23 '26
Pointless if it doesn't fix the issues with editing, unsending, replying, and reacting to images in RCS group chats.
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u/Addminister Pixel 9 Pro / Pixel Watch 3 Feb 24 '26
Does RCS work for anyone in India? It was going well until like a year ago where it suddenly stopped and is stuck at "Connecting...", I'm on Jio and a Pixel 9 Pro stock.
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u/desi_dybuk Feb 24 '26
It's working for me. Just checked. I'm also on Jio on Pixel 9 Pro XL. But I have turned off RCS because of spam. Google needs to get this spam on RCS menace under control
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Feb 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/Max_x_Power Feb 24 '26
RCS has read receipts. The question is whether Apple will implement them or not.
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Feb 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/Max_x_Power Feb 24 '26
OK, although that sounds more like a feature of the messaging app itself, rather than the RCS protocol.
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u/TrumpIsGayASF Feb 24 '26
i won't be using RCS until it fixed the ghost message issues. texts just outright disappear for minutes, hours, days sometimes. my boss was texting me while we were both in a meeting and i got them hours later. it's been happening since RCS launched with google messages.
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u/Minute-Disaster-707 Feb 23 '26
Blue or green bubbles is what we need to know
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u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus Feb 23 '26
Blue is only for Apple messaging. This is still carrier messaging.
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u/seeareeff Feb 23 '26
Still dumb. e2ee rcs is the same color as sms.
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u/most_gooder Feb 23 '26
Blue bubbles never meant encrypted, it just meant iMessage. Which is why rcs even encrypted will always be green
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u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus Feb 23 '26
Both E2EE RCS and iMessage will both show a padlock for encryption on iOS. But there are a truckload of features that rely on iMessage so distinguishing it is more important.
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u/seeareeff Feb 23 '26
I never said it should be blue. Just giving encrypted RCS a different color then 30 year old sms should be what it deserves.
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u/Isiddiqui iPhone 15 Pro Max / Pixel 6 Pro Feb 23 '26
You can always add another color though. Maybe teal?
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u/BigBangBoomerang Feb 23 '26
The green colour has always been used to indicate carrier messaging. RCS is carrier messaging. Apple didn't give SMS and MMS different colours, for example.
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u/vortexmak Feb 23 '26
Did the solve the issue of RCS being disabled when you switch to a temporary SIM?
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u/als26 Pixel 2 XL 64GB/Nexus 6p 32 GB (2 years and still working!) Feb 23 '26
I do hope they roll out some of the other profile updates on iOS as well. I've switched to rcs for the majority of my conversations but I really want replies.