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Tech News
A tech guide highlights five Google Messages settings that are enabled by default but may hurt the user experience, including features tied to notifications and AI tools. The piece argues that disabling these options can make the app function better for most users, despite its overall strength as Android's default texting app.
The GSMA, which oversees the RCS messaging standard, warns that RCS has a six-to-twelve month window to establish itself as a conversational, AI-capable platform rather than a one-way notification tool. GSMA Intelligence data shows people receive about 3.2 billion RCS messages daily, but businesses sent only around 20 billion RCS messages in all of 2025, versus roughly 15 SMS messages per subscriber monthly. The GSMA says it is developing new conversational features but has not announced specifics or timelines.
OpenAI has extended its proactive ChatGPT dot agent feature beyond the main app, letting users message it directly through iMessage and RCS on their phones. Users can assign tasks or ask the dot to monitor things using text, photos, or voice notes, and it will reply proactively with updates through the Messages app. Setup involves selecting 'Texting' from the dot's profile, with OpenAI stating the feature does not grant access to other text conversations.
Android Authority's poll of 1,144 readers found the floating Gemini button in Google Messages to be the most unpopular feature, drawing 48.6% of votes among five options. Respondents cited its prominent placement near the 'Start a new chat' button, which makes it easy to tap by accident, and its redundancy given Google's standalone Gemini app.
An Android Authority writer switched from Google Messages to QUIK, an open-source SMS app descended from the discontinued QKSMS, after growing frustrated with Google Messages' rigid spam filter. The writer says Google Messages often misflags legitimate texts from banks and carriers as spam while letting real scam messages through, with no settings to adjust the behavior. QUIK, available via F-Droid, is described as a basic but functional SMS-only app without RCS support.
Android Authority identified an in-development update to Google Messages, found in version messages.android_20261020_00_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic, that reorganizes the app's single long settings list into separate categorized sections. Individual settings pages, such as those for RCS chats and SIM/country selection, are also being redesigned with new graphics and subdivided menus.
A new wave of AI agents operate directly through texting apps such as iMessage, RCS, Signal and Telegram instead of requiring a dedicated app. Tools like Caddy scan calendars and conversations to surface tasks such as reminders and event scheduling, while Comma carries work tasks to completion across browsers and files, flagging items for user approval. The sector includes Instinct, which recently raised $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation.
Code strings found in a new Google Messages beta build indicate the app will remove the ability to turn off RCS for individual conversations, forcing users back to SMS/MMS only on a conversation-by-conversation basis. The strings show an in-app banner warning that the 'Only send SMS & MMS messages' setting is going away, offering users the choice to switch to RCS now or have it switched automatically.
A number of companies are launching AI assistants accessible via iMessage, RCS, or SMS rather than standalone apps. Examples include Caddy, which organizes calendar events and reminders from scattered phone content, and Fambot, a family-focused assistant that manages school, sports, and meal planning across text and an app. The sector includes agent Instinct, recently valued at $10 billion after raising $1 billion.
Google has acknowledged a bug affecting a subset of Google Messages users that disrupts delivery of RCS messages, particularly media attachments like GIFs and photos. A company spokesperson told Android Authority that a fix is already being rolled out and will reach all affected users over the coming weeks.
Users on Reddit report that Google Messages fails to send GIFs, photos, photomoji, and stickers over RCS when messaging other Android devices, though switching to SMS/MMS reportedly resolves the issue. Oddly, affected users say RCS media transfers to iPhones work fine, with the problem isolated to Android-to-Android exchanges. Standard fixes like restarting the phone, clearing cache, or resetting network settings have not resolved it for most, though one user says clearing storage helped at the cost of losing their Photomoji tab.
Android Authority found new text strings in a Google Messages beta build (version messages.android_20260924_00_RC00) referencing RCS video calling features, including a confirmation screen with a 'Call' button. The feature builds on the RCS Universal Profile 4.0 standard, which introduced native video calling within chat threads, and follows an earlier single string spotted in May pointing to early development.