Comment by bewilderbeast
3 years ago
I have 2 issues with RCS:
1. Requires data connection, either WiFi or mobile data. SMS does not.
2. On Android, it goes through Google Messages. I don't trust Google.
So, I replaced Messages with another SMS app that doesn't spy on me and disabled RCS. If I wanted to do rich messaging through data connection, I would use Signal or similar.
So, RCS is not a replacement for SMS. It's just another IM protocol. And we have enough of those.
As for others replying through RCS, that's a failure of the messaging app, should recognize that the counterpart is SMS and reply in SMS. It's an attempt to force RCS...
SMS is for fast short messaging between mobile users, and that is its killer feature, it's universal. Every mobile phone supports it.
Signal dropping SMS support makes no difference for me, never used it for SMS, I used Signal for the secure conversations. Two different methods of contact.
"2. On Android, it goes through Google Messages. I don't trust Google.
So, I replaced Messages with another SMS app that doesn't spy on me and disabled RCS. If I wanted to do rich messaging through data connection, I would use Signal or similar."
3rd party SMS apps use a Google provided API to send and receive SMS messages on an operating system provided by Google. I'm not sure how you think using a 3rd party SMS app would be protecting you if Google cared about spying on your messages.
RCS through Google Messages is end to end encrypted while SMS is not, so you haven't eliminated Google in theory spying on your messages but you have assured that your carrier, the recipients carrier and whomever controls the OS and app on the destination device can potentially spy on your messages.
1. True RCS isn't supposed to go through internet, it's supposed to go through same way as SMS and voice calls (which is also a data connection, but specific to sms/rcs/voice)
2. That's not a requirement even though Google does their best to kill all alternative implementations. (Samsung had one, but Google paid them a lot of money to get rid of it. I have to admit I don't know who is left with their own RCS client)
> So, RCS is not a replacement for SMS.
It's 100% a replacement to SMS, it's literally defined in the same spec as SMS over LTE, as an upgrade to SMS. Though yeah Google made it, this... uh... thing. RCS is technically a federated standard, but Google killed every part of the federation and some parts of the standard.
RCS might be a federated standard, but before Google not even Verizon at AT&T wanted to federate.
Not sure why you'd say "not even Verizon". Verizon is literally the worst carrier worldwide (ok maybe after NTT) with regards to interoperability.
2 replies →
> So, I replaced Messages with another SMS app that doesn't spy on me and disabled RCS.
I think you know this based on the rest of your post but there is no “another SMS app that doesn’t spy on me”.
Why not? SMS apps no need internet access, so only one spying there can be carrier.