Summary

  • RCS should replace SMS and offer a better experience, but it faces spam issues.
  • Google Messages is testing adding a warning when opening links from unknown numbers.
  • The confirmation step aims to control RCS spam, which is important before Apple expands RCS support to the iPhone.



RCS should eventually entirely replace SMS, as it provides a better text messaging experience. This transition should speed up once Apple adds support for the communication protocol to the iPhone’s Messages app later this year. But RCS has its own pain points, with uncontrolled spam being among the biggest. At one point, the situation was so bad in India that Google had to turn off RCS promotional messages altogether. Google now appears set to take a drastic step to reduce unwanted promotional messages and discourage scammers from using RCS.


Person holding phone with RCS chat settings on display

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The Google Messages app will show a pop-up warning when you tap on a link from an RCS message received from an unknown number. You must tick the Continue with possible risk box and then Continue from the dialog box that appears so that the link can open. That’s two additional steps for something that currently takes just one tap.

@AssembleDebug spotted the feature in Google Messages beta 20240402_01_RCO0 after manually enabling certain flags, indicating that it is still under development and might not roll out anytime soon.

Warning in Google Messages when tapping on an external link
Source: PuinikaWeb

If the PiunikaWeb report is accurate, the warning dialog box will only appear when you tap on a link sent by an unknown number, even in a group chat. It won’t show up when a friend or family member shares a link over RCS, ensuring the safety measure does not get annoying. The same confirmation dialog will also pop-up for external links that you receive through regular (non-RCS) text messages.



Google must control RCS spam

While drastic, an additional confirmation to open external links from unknown numbers will make Google Messages much safer for general use. This is especially important before Apple adds RCS support to the iPhone, as it could lead to a lot more people switching to the new communication protocol.

As things currently stand, spam and promotional messages from unwanted companies and scammers have gone out of control in RCS. The dialog box should deter companies and scammers from spamming people with unwanted messages.

Until Google rolls out the new confirmation dialog box for external links, you can try these steps to limit RCS spam in Google Messages.