Google Messages

Google Messages is the SMS and RCS app that ships on most Android phones. The reason it matters more than a stock texting app is RCS — the successor to SMS that adds typing indicators, read receipts, better media quality and end-to-end encryption.

What is and is not encrypted

This is the part worth getting right:

• RCS conversations between Google Messages users are end-to-end encrypted, one-to-one and in groups.
• SMS and MMS are not encrypted at all. They never were.
• Messages to iPhones now travel over RCS following Apple’s adoption, but the cross-platform encryption picture has been evolving; whether a specific thread is encrypted is shown in the app rather than something to assume.

The practical rule: look for the lock indicator on the conversation. If it is absent, the thread is SMS and should be treated as readable in transit.

Useful behaviour people miss

• Messages sync to the web client, which works without the phone being awake once paired.
• Attachments sent over RCS are not subject to MMS size limits, which is the most immediately noticeable improvement.
• If RCS fails to activate, it is usually the carrier or a SIM change rather than the app; toggling it off and on in settings resolves most cases.