Learn about Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging

A modern industry standard for messaging known as Rich Communication Services (RCS) enables more dynamic and secure conversations than SMS and MMS.

Important: RCS is now available for Android and select iPhone devices, provided by Google or your carrier under your carrier's terms of service. To find out who your RCS provider is, visit Messages' settings. Learn how your data is handled in RCS chats.

Activate RCS chats in Google Messages

When RCS chats is turned on in Google Messages, you can:

• Share high-resolution photos and videos.
• Know when someone is typing.
• Get read receipts, which show when someone has read or received your message. Read receipts also show your contact when you read their message.
• Send messages over mobile data and Wi-Fi.
• Rename, edit, and remove yourself from group chats.
• Keep your conversations secure with end-to-end encryption if you are communicating with another Google Messages user(s).

Tip: To be able to enjoy these features, everyone in the Google Messages conversation must turn the RCS chats on.

Understand how SMS and MMS differ from RCS

Feature	SMS	MMS
Media support	Text messages only Doesn't support images and videos	Supports photos, audio, and video sharing but subject to file size limits and compression.
Network	Sends and receives messages over the carrier's voice network, not through mobile data or WiFi	Sends and receives messages using mobile data Doesn't support WiFi
Advanced features	Doesn't support group chats, read receipts, or typing indicators	Supports group chats but not read receipts and typing indicators
Encryption	Unencrypted	Unencrypted

Related resources

• Turn on RCS chats in Google Messages
• How RCS chats keep your conversations secure
• Control message delivery