3 ms·
RCS is not really an open standard though. If you want encrypted RCS with android phones, you can't unless Google lets you. At least that was true last I checke
by zie 2y ago
RCS is not really an open standard though. If you want encrypted RCS with android phones, you can't unless Google lets you. At least that was true last I checked. I'm guessing it hasn't changed.
- whimsicalism 2y agowho are you trying to convince? nobody in the know thinks this is a google problem, the facts are pretty obvious
- zie 2y agoGoogle totally controls that ability. Apple is not any better here, but it's weird to call out Apple as being the only meanie here, when both Apple and Google are equally terrible when it comes to cross-platform e2e messaging. Thankfully we have Signal, which solves the problem better than either platform option.
- saintfire 2y agoNot to say Signal is worse than either option, because it's not, but they really hampered adoption by removing SMS (at least in NA). I have almost no way to convince anyone other than people very close to me to use it due to the (lack) of network effect. If they could just use it instead of the default messenger then it's a dramatically easier sell. Obviously it's up to the Signal Foundation about the direction they take but I don't know if I've seen anyone agree with the justifications. Google and Apple wrap up their locked down BS with SMS for the same reason. It's by default free of network effect but passively pulls people in.
- dimator 2y agoAre you saying if Apple asked Google to sit down and come up with an encrypted RCS working group and get proper interop done, it would be _Google_ that would decline?
- zie 2y agoWhy would Google say yes?
- chrismarlow9 2y agoTo have easy compatibility with other devices. Why wouldn't they say yes?
- zie 2y agoThat's not something they care about, as if they did, they would have already opened it.
- oneplane 2y agoGoogle was already asked and they said no. They want to keep their non-standard RCS, both server-side and client-side and will not share it. Or more specifically: it's a different product ("Google Messages") that just happens to be based on RCS. They do have some partnerships with hardware manufacturers that ship Play on their devices, and they will preload Google Messages in there as well. In essence, it doesn't exist in AOSP, and doesn't really live side-by-side with a normal messaging app (i.e. one that only does baseband native messaging), I wouldn't be surprised if the partnerships and preloading conditions state the manufacturer can't ship their own version (I think at least Samsung had to drop their own "Samsung Messages" app as reported in one of the reviews of a foldable display phone). In a way, RCS made no difference, and whatever Google did was mostly just to compete with Meta (both FB Messenger and WhatsApp). Fun fact: Google Messages is closer to Matrix than it is to iMessage in terms of comparable technical features.
- ChadNauseam 2y agoIt’s not as if SMS is e2e encrypted right? Is RCS worse in that dimension in some way?