Google Messages makes it easy to deregister your phone number from RCS

Ben Schoon | Jun 19 2020 - 1:49 pm PT

RCS is the next big step in improving messaging on Android, but there will be some people who just don’t want it. Recently, Google opened up a form that makes it easy to disable RCS completely on Google Messages for your number by deregistering it.

As first spotted by Android Police, Google Messages has opened up a new online form that can deregister/disable RCS chat on your phone number. Simply put in your phone number that is currently enrolled in RCS, wait for a verification code, enter that code, and tap the “Verify” button. At that point, your number should be deregistered from using RCS entirely.

There are some exceptions to deregistering a number, though. For one, if you’re not actually registered with Google Messages RCS, the verification message will still come through, but you’ll get an error message. Another, more likely scenario is that you’re actually using RCS through your carrier’s system, not Google’s rollout. If that’s the case, this form won’t work.

Notably, Apple has a near-identical form for disabling iMessage on your number, with even the verification method being pretty much the same.

With this new form, Google Messages will deregister your number from RCS, disabling the Chat functionality on your phone, within a few days. Of course, you can still immediately turn the functionality off within the Messages app.