Switch to Google Messages for Android

Google Messages offers improved messaging with friends and family who are using different devices.

Google Messages brings Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging to your Android smartphone.¹ Google Messages enhances messages between a wide variety of devices and offers better messaging features, such as real-time spam detection, custom themes, screen effects, and more. RCS is supported by most carriers, over 500 Android device manufacturers, and on iPhone with iOS 18 and later.

Important: Advanced Messaging RCS is going away in July 2026. RCS messaging will only work on Android devices using Google Messages.

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If everyone in your conversation uses RCS-eligible smartphones with RCS turned on, you’ll get enhanced messaging features, such as:

Typing indicators
Delivery and read receipts
Ability to add people to an existing group chat or leave an existing group chat
Larger groups up to 100 participants
Larger file sharing than regular texts
End-to-end RCS message encryption with other Google Messages users (Android only)

Your messages will be in SMS or MMS format and RCS features like delivery and read receipts, larger file sharing, and larger groups won’t be available. You may be removed from a group RCS chat without knowing. You may not be able to send a message to an existing group, so you’d have to create a new group to continue with the same message participants.

To avoid these issues and for a better messaging experience, we recommend all Android users switch to Google Messages as their default messaging app.

Last updated: April 2, 2026

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