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Google Messages moves RCS ‘provided by’ status in settings

A small change to Google Messages settings moves where you can find who’s providing your Rich Communication Services (RCS).

The “RCS chats” settings page in Google Messages previously noted who was providing your RCS at the bottom. “RCS is provided by your mobile carrier” is what most people see, though there’s also “Chat features from Google provided by Jibe Mobile.”

Google recently moved this line behind a new ‘info’ icon next to your number near the top. It’s a bit hidden compared to the old approach with the ‘i’ easy to miss. It’s also a small touch target to tap.

That said, “provided by” is missing entirely on some phones we checked today. 

Old vs. new

In the US, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have slowly moved to Google’s Jibe platform after years of maintaining their own servers for Rich Communication Services. Users complained about this approach, with send/receive interoperability errors occasionally occurring. Google taking over the backend should reduce issues and make “provided by” less relevant.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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