What Is RCS Messaging? RCS vs. SMS, MMS, and iMessage

The short answer

Rich Communication Services (RCS) is the modern upgrade to traditional SMS texting. While SMS is limited to plain text and 160 characters, RCS works like a modern chat app, allowing you to send high-resolution photos, see typing indicators, get read receipts, and chat over Wi-Fi. It is now the default messaging standard for both Android and iPhone.

Key features of RCS messaging

• High-resolution media sharing: Send high-quality photos, videos and audio; media files can be up to 100MB. 
• Real-time interaction: Read receipts and typing indicators let you know when your message has been seen and when someone’s working on a reply. 
• Emoji reactions: Respond to a message quickly, you can do a “tapback response” to react with an emoji. 
• Enhanced group chats: Support for group chats with up to 100 participants.  
• Business messaging tools: Business-friendly options include custom branding, analytics, and the ability to include files like maps or tickets. 

How does RCS chat compare to SMS and MMS?  

Texting has come a long way since its invention more than 30 years ago. It started with SMS messages, which are short and can only include text, then evolved with MMS messaging, which added the ability to send emoji, images and multimedia files. 

RCS added even more features and by late 2019 was the default Android messaging platform. In late 2024, Apple joined the party by adding RCS support to iOS 18.

RCS vs. iMessage: What’s the difference? 

For years, texting between an iPhone and an Android meant dealing with "green bubbles," broken group chats, and blurry videos. That's because iPhones used iMessage for Apple-to-Apple chats, but downgraded to basic SMS/MMS when texting an Android.

With the launch of iOS 18 in 2024, Apple supports RCS. Now, when an iPhone user texts an Android user, the message uses RCS instead of SMS. This means high-res photos, typing indicators, and read receipts finally work seamlessly between iOS and Android devices.

However, iMessage and RCS are not the same thing. iMessage remains Apple's exclusive system for iPhone-to-iPhone communication and features end-to-end encryption by default. RCS is the universal standard that bridges the gap between all modern smartphones, regardless of the manufacturer.

How does RCS chat work?  

RCS messages depend on an internet connection, so you need to be on Wi-Fi or have a phone plan with data. To carry on a conversation with RCS, you need these elements:  

• Your phone must support RCS: Androids on 5.0 or later and iPhones on iOS 18 or later are RCS compatible, as are most Pixel phones.  
• Your phone carrier may need to support it, too, unless you’re using Google Message. The Big 3 networks (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) all support RCS chat, as do many of the smaller service resellers called MVNOs.
• You need to be somewhere RCS is available. It's not yet in all regions of the U.S.  

• You may need to enable RCS messaging on your phone. The recipient or recipients (everyone in the chat) need to have RCS messaging enabled on their phones, too. If a recipient doesn’t have RCS chatting or there are connectivity issues, messages will simply revert to SMS or MMS.

How to turn on RCS messaging

• On an Android: Go to Google Messages, tap your profile picture, then tap Message settings. Select RCS chats and enable.  
• On an iPhone: Open Settings -> Apps -> Messages. Under Text Messaging, tap on RCS Messaging and toggle it on.  

  >> Read more: Guide to the best free texting apps

What are the advantages and disadvantages of RCS messaging? 

RCS chatting adds a lot of functionality but also brings some considerations. The most notable one is encryption. RCS messages between Google Message users are end-to-end encrypted but iPhone RCS messages are not; instead, iPhone users must use iMessage to get that level of encryption. And messages between iPhones and Androids are not encrypted.  

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Is RCS messaging safe?  

As mentioned above, the contents of RCS messages may or may not be end-to-end encrypted, depending on what platform and devices are being used. Best practices if you’re worried about RCS messaging security include: 

• Avoid sharing sensitive material, like financial info, over RCS. 
• To ensure encryption, Android users could limit themselves to communicating with other Google Message users, and iPhone users could stick to iMessage.  
• Consider using a platform that emphasizes security instead, such as Signal or WhatsApp. 

In addition, RCS messaging can transmit sensitive metadata you’d rather not share: IP address, phone number, device info. That’s true even when the message content is end-to-end encrypted: RCS uses carrier networks, so it needs to identify you and your device to allow access. Again, if this gives you pause, you might want to use a private texting app like Signal, which has metadata protection software called Sealed Sender.  

How do I turn off RCS? 

If you decide you’d rather not use RCS chat, you can toggle it off using the path you used to enable it. A few things happen if you turn off RCS messaging:  

• You’ll be removed from group RCS chats. 
• Media you send via text (photos, videos, audio) may have lower quality for the recipient, and the maximum file size drops from 100MB to 5MB.  
• Messages will not be encrypted unless you use an app like Signal or WhatsApp or stick with iMessage. 

Android users should turn off RCS before switching to a new phone to avoid verification difficulties.  

Does TextNow support RCS messaging?

The TextNow app delivers free, unlimited texting and calling over Wi-Fi and our 5G network. Because TextNow operates as an independent app rather than through your phone's native dialer (like Google Messages or Apple Messages), it does not currently use the RCS protocol.

However, TextNow already includes many of the rich features that make RCS popular — including high-resolution photo and video sharing, group messaging, voice notes, and emoji reactions — all available for free within the TextNow app.

Frequently asked questions about RCS messaging