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Google Messages may be about to take away one of the easiest ways to avoid RCS. A report from Android Authority, based on a look inside a recent app update, says Google is laying the groundwork to remove the setting that lets users force SMS or MMS for an individual conversation. If that happens, Android users who want to keep some chats on old-fashioned text messaging will have far fewer choices. Google has not announced the change, and the findings come from code in an app update rather than an official statement, so the details could still shift before anything reaches users.
To see why this matters, it helps to recall what the setting does. RCS, short for Rich Communication Services, is the modern successor to SMS. It sends messages over the internet rather than the cellular text channel, which allows typing indicators, read receipts, higher-quality photos and videos, and better group chats. Google Messages has been pushing it for years, and iPhones running iOS 18 or later can now use it too, which has made it the default way many people text across platforms. Even so, Google Messages has so far allowed people to switch off RCS for a particular contact and send plain SMS or MMS to that person instead.
According to Android Authority, a new version of the app includes strings of text that appear to prepare for that option’s removal. Among them is a banner that reads “Switch to RCS chats now,” along with buttons labeled to dismiss the message or switch immediately. The publication reads this as a sign that Messages will soon start telling users they are losing the per-contact toggle. Once that happens, it says, the remaining ways to avoid RCS would be to turn it off across all chats or to rely on the fallback that uses SMS and MMS only after RCS delivery fails. Because the evidence comes from unreleased code, the timing, wording and even the final decision remain uncertain.
The two options that would be left behave quite differently from the one being dropped. Turning RCS off entirely is a blunt instrument. Google’s own help pages say the setting lives under Messages settings, then RCS chats, and they carry a notable warning: it is not advised to switch RCS on and off, because doing so can remove you from group chats. Google’s troubleshooting page adds that deactivating RCS suspends its features and that users are removed from all RCS group chats if it is not turned back on within 30 days. A guide on Yahoo Tech also cautions that some people have been temporarily blocked from RCS chats after toggling the feature repeatedly. For anyone in several active group chats, a full switch-off is therefore a bigger decision than a single-contact override.
The fallback option is gentler but does not give users the control they have today. Google’s support page describes a setting that lets people choose how to resend a message when it does not go through, and that is the kind of fallback the report refers to. It helps when RCS fails, such as when a contact has no data connection, but it does not let you decide in advance that a particular conversation should be SMS from the start. In practice, that means the person who sends a message loses the ability to say that this contact will always receive texts the traditional way.
Why would anyone want that? Android Authority points to spam as one reason, noting that RCS content can get spammy and that the site does not like the idea of losing the option. Other motives are easy to imagine. SMS works over the cellular network without needing a data connection, whereas RCS requires internet access, as Guiding Tech explains. For people with limited data or unreliable coverage, being able to keep certain chats on SMS can be a practical choice. Some users also prefer the simplicity of SMS for contacts who rarely message, such as delivery services, banks or older relatives, and others avoid RCS features like read receipts on principle.
It would be wrong to present this as a settled loss, because the report does not include a statement from Google explaining its thinking. Product teams often simplify settings when they believe an older option causes confusion or technical problems. A per-contact SMS override can lead to messages being sent through the wrong channel, break expected behavior in group chats, or mix encrypted and unencrypted conversations in ways that are difficult to explain. That is speculation about possible reasons, not something the report states, but it shows why a company that wants messaging to be consistent might prefer fewer switches. It is also consistent with a broader industry trend of moving away from SMS toward richer, internet-based messaging.
For readers who like RCS, the change may mean nothing at all. The feature set is better than SMS in nearly every respect, from reliable group messaging to media quality, and the push to make it universal is aimed at closing the gap with services such as WhatsApp and iMessage. For readers who do not, the question is what to do about it. Several practical steps are worth considering before any update lands.
First, check which contacts you currently keep on SMS and why. If those chats include services that send one-time codes or alerts, most of those messages will continue to arrive as ordinary SMS, since they come from short codes that do not use RCS. Second, if you are considering turning RCS off completely, read Google’s guidance first and avoid switching it on and off repeatedly. Third, remember that RCS availability depends on your phone, carrier and region, so what you see may differ from what users in other countries experience. Fourth, if you use more than one messaging app, you may decide to move private or sensitive conversations to a service with its own security features rather than depending on a single toggle.
It is also worth watching how the final version is worded. If Google presents the change clearly, with an explanation and an easy way to opt out entirely, it may land as a minor adjustment. If it arrives as a surprise banner that nudges people to “switch now,” users who preferred their old setup may feel pushed. Clear communication matters, especially for an app installed on billions of phones, because texting is one of the few features most people use every day without thinking about it.
Readers who follow technology and business developments in Nigeria and beyond can find more coverage at BusinessTech Nigeria. The original report is available from Android Authority, and Google’s own instructions for managing RCS are on the Google Messages help page. Until Google confirms its plans, the safest conclusion is that the per-contact SMS switch looks like it is on its way out, and that the full picture will come with the next update.
