Google Messages to Remove Individual RCS Disable Option

Google Messages is preparing to remove the option to disable Rich Communication Services (RCS) for individual contacts. Currently, users can toggle RCS off for specific chats, reverting to traditional SMS and MMS. However, a recent update to the app suggests this feature will soon be phased out.

The upcoming change is hinted at by new text strings found in the latest version of Google Messages. These strings indicate that users will soon receive a notification about the removal of the 'Only send SMS & MMS messages' setting. The message will urge users to switch to RCS or let the app update automatically.

Once this change takes effect, users will only have two options to avoid RCS: disable it entirely for all chats or rely on a fallback option that defaults to SMS and MMS only if RCS fails. The exact timeline for this transition remains unclear, but it appears imminent.

While RCS has brought significant improvements to messaging, such as read receipts and larger media attachments, some users prefer the simplicity of SMS and MMS. The loss of the per-contact toggle may be inconvenient for those who find RCS spammy or problematic in certain conversations.