iOS 18 RCS Support Rolling Out to Beta Users

[zenodux]

Nope. It got End to End Encryption before iMessage (including its backups) and don't give me the whole "you can only trust Apple with your data" nonsense when Apple is just another digital business like all the others. You think they'd be lying about End to End Encryption? The EU would be up their a** so fast!

While it may be true that conversations are end-to-end encrypted, I'll bet a lot of people let WhatsApp access their contacts - many Meta apps ask for this. TikTok does too. I'll bet Meta uses this data to enrich their social graphs, add to the data they have on you, and suggest you follow contacts (and maybe contacts of your contacts). TikTok does too. Even if you don't let WhatsApp access your contacts, obviously they still know who you actually converse with, so they can do the above things with just the contacts that you actually converse with - arguably those most important to you.

I wonder if profiles and statuses are end-to-end encrypted?

If you need a few more reasons to steer clear of Meta, here's some fun reading...

Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

How to help young people limit screen time — and feel better about how they look

New research found teens and young adults who even briefly cut time on social media gained self esteem. Try these 5 tips to help them — and yourself — improve screen-life balance.

www.npr.org

The Facebook whistleblower says its algorithms are dangerous. Here’s why.

Frances Haugen’s testimony at the Senate hearing today raised serious questions about how Facebook’s algorithms work—and echoes many findings from our previous investigation.

www.technologyreview.com

 

[MNWildFan]

As far as I know it doesn't work with group texting, only one to one.

Yeah, in my family's group chat, all of us but 1 of the group members have an iPhone, but despite that it still shows Text Message - SMS on the bottom

However, I did notice that earlier today that in one of my individual message threads from someone that has an Android phone, it did show Text Message - RCS and I figured that out before noticing that even as I saw the same delivered and read receipts along with the same typing indicator that we've come to know already via iMessage; good stuff!

 

[MNWildFan]

Can anyone confirm if you can add RCS users to group chats that were once only all iMessage?

As of right now, I think it only works in individual threads

Case in point, I have a group message chat with my family where all of us but 1 person have an iPhone, and it still shows Text Message - SMS on the bottom

However, in an individual message thread that I have with one of the few friends of mine that has an Android phone, I noticed right away in the text box of that one that it shows up as Text Message - RCS instead now along with all of the same features we've come to know and love already with iMessage when messaging them

 

[MNWildFan]

RCS is not even a thing in Asia. Everyone uses one 3rd party app or the other.

Yeah, and I don't blame them

And for the EU where they have used What'sApp for years instead of traditional SMS or RCS (for them it makes sense though; unlike the US where we're just one big country, the way the EU is set up is like the US but in the form of many countries)

 

[GjCarlson]

With the second beta of iOS 18 that came out yesterday, Apple added an RCS toggle, but RCS messaging was not working at that time. RCS support appears to now be rolling out, based on reports from iOS 18 users.

Some testers who have iOS 18 installed have confirmed that they are able to send RCS messages to Android users, with RCS features available. Texts that are RCS-based instead of SMS/MMS-based are denoted with an RCS label.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1805711143484506438

RCS, or Rich Communication Services, allows iPhone and Android users to exchange higher quality photos and videos, audio messages, and larger file sizes. Features like read receipts and real-time typing indicators are supported too, with a full list of what's new available below.

• Support for higher resolution photos and videos.
  
• Support for larger file sizes and file sharing.
  
• Audio messages.
  
• Cross-platform emoji reactions.
  
• Real-time typing indicators.
  
• Read receipts.
  
• Ability to send messages over cellular or Wi-Fi (SMS is cellular only). There is no cost to send an RCS message over Wi-Fi.
  
• Improved group chats.

RCS messages can be enabled in the Messages section of the Settings app, and are toggled on by default. At the current time, RCS messaging is only available to those in the United States who have a carrier that supports RCS. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon users running iOS 18 should have the RCS toggle available, but those with MVNOs and smaller carriers will not be able to use the feature yet.

Not all iOS 18 users with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon are seeing RCS enabled, so it appears that support is still rolling out.

iOS 18 is available in a beta capacity right now, and it is limited to developers. RCS will be available to all iOS 18 users when the software launches to the public this fall.

Article Link: iOS 18 RCS Support Rolling Out to Beta Users

Re: "those with MVNOs and smaller carriers will not be able to use the feature yet" ...

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile all experimented with their own RCS servers but all gave up within the past 12 months presumably because of many incompatibilities with all of the RCS scenarios supported by Android devices.

Verizon switching to Google’s Jibe for RCS on Android

Following AT&T and T-Mobile in 2023, Verizon is switching to Google's Jibe platform for RCS on its Android phones...

9to5google.com

AT&T switching to Google's Jibe platform for RCS

AT&T is now switching over to Google's Jibe platform for RCS. While the carrier announced that it would use Google's Messages app...

9to5google.com

T-Mobile switching to Google’s Jibe for RCS in Messages app

In addition to Get the Messages continuing with iPager, T-Mobile announced today that its RCS offering is now powered by Google’s Jibe...

9to5google.com

These smaller tier-2/tier-3 MNOs will likely also use Google Jibe to ensure compatibility across all RCS scenarios with Android devices.

 

[Ad47uk]

well I think it might be the telcos in the end, onvce people start asking for/demanding rcs and sms/mms volumes drop significantly they might not want to run the old sms/mms backend any more, witt it happen thi year, nopes. will it be a reality by the mid 2030s probably

Well, it is impossible to know what will happen in the future, but as I have said before there are some devices that use SMS to send auto messages, they will be difficult to convert to RCS and maybe even in the futre therr will still be people who don't want a smartphone and yet still want to send message, so I don't know how they will get around that.
I do wonder if people are that bothered about RCS to be honest, people who really want to send photos and videos to people can already do that with third party apps. RCS have things that I have and others have no interest in, for a start I am not interested in having photos sent to me via it, I certainly don't want people to know I am typing, I have disabled that in Facebook Messenger. There are other things in RCs that I am just not interested in.

SMS as I have said before does what it says on the tin, I can send a message to someone saying for example I will meet you at Eden house coffee at 10AM tomorrow. What do I need RCS for just to do that?

I am sure there are people out there that will find RCS useful, but a lot including myself just have n need for it, and we are happy with reliable SMS

 

[lartola]

It‘s technically not a replacement, just another OTT, so it‘s charged by consuming your data. At least that‘s how it works here and for everyone I talked to about RCS over the years.
You‘d be the first to have this be handled via SMS allotment I know of.

It’s intended to be a replacement.

 

[YuriAraujo]

Typing indicator, read receipts and reactions are all working between my work iPhone 13 and personal Pixel 8 Pro. Also very happy to report that video taken on iPhone and sent over RCS is not compressed anymore and playing back in HDR on Pixel 8 Pro. Now I just wanna convince the wife to let me update her 15 Pro so I can stop having her use WhatsApp to send me videos.

I’l wondering how group chats will work. Let’s say some people in the iMessage group chat disabled RCS, how will android phones respond/display those iMessages?

What happens in a group chat when somebody taps back but it goes through SMS, will the texting experience be just like before RCS ?

 

[lartola]

While it may be true that conversations are end-to-end encrypted, I'll bet a lot of people let WhatsApp access their contacts - many Meta apps ask for this. TikTok does too. I'll bet Meta uses this data to enrich their social graphs, add to the data they have on you, and suggest you follow contacts (and maybe contacts of your contacts). TikTok does too. Even if you don't let WhatsApp access your contacts, obviously they still know who you actually converse with, so they can do the above things with just the contacts that you actually converse with - arguably those most important to you.

I wonder if profiles and statuses are end-to-end encrypted?

If you need a few more reasons to steer clear of Meta, here's some fun reading...

Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

How to help young people limit screen time — and feel better about how they look

New research found teens and young adults who even briefly cut time on social media gained self esteem. Try these 5 tips to help them — and yourself — improve screen-life balance.

www.npr.org

The Facebook whistleblower says its algorithms are dangerous. Here’s why.

Frances Haugen’s testimony at the Senate hearing today raised serious questions about how Facebook’s algorithms work—and echoes many findings from our previous investigation.

www.technologyreview.com

Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to steer away from whatsapp outside the US. Unlike the other meta apps, whatsapp is used for everything outside the US from communicating with most of our contacts to restaurants’ to go orders to doctor appointments, work appointments, government services and many companies’ customer service. Basically for everything that americans would use SMS, the rest of the world uses whatsapp. Heck, in Mexico even the costco gas stations offer to send your digital invoice via whatsapp, not SMS, for the phone messaging option (they also offer to send via email, but just not sms for the phone option).

 

[DakotaGuy]

Re: "those with MVNOs and smaller carriers will not be able to use the feature yet" ...

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile all experimented with their own RCS servers but all gave up within the past 12 months presumably because of many incompatibilities with all of the RCS scenarios supported by Android devices.

Verizon switching to Google’s Jibe for RCS on Android

Following AT&T and T-Mobile in 2023, Verizon is switching to Google's Jibe platform for RCS on its Android phones...

9to5google.com

AT&T switching to Google's Jibe platform for RCS

AT&T is now switching over to Google's Jibe platform for RCS. While the carrier announced that it would use Google's Messages app...

9to5google.com

T-Mobile switching to Google’s Jibe for RCS in Messages app

In addition to Get the Messages continuing with iPager, T-Mobile announced today that its RCS offering is now powered by Google’s Jibe...

9to5google.com

These smaller tier-2/tier-3 MNOs will likely also use Google Jibe to ensure compatibility across all RCS scenarios with Android devices.

Incompatibility probably played some role in moving to Jibe, but it’s also probably a lot cheaper to just pay them for server access than to do it themselves. Amazon, Microsoft and Google run servers for all sorts of cloud support because they can do it cheaper and more efficiently than the businesses that need the support. I always laugh when someone says I don’t want any of my data touching Google. Your data touches Google all day long whether you use their services or not.

 

[gusmula]

Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to steer away from whatsapp outside the US. Unlike the other meta apps, whatsapp is used for everything outside the US from communicating with most of our contacts to restaurants’ to go orders to doctor appointments, work appointments, government services and many companies’ customer service. Basically for everything that americans would use SMS, the rest of the world uses whatsapp. Heck, in Mexico even the costco gas stations offer to send your digital invoice via whatsapp, not SMS, for the phone messaging option (they also offer to send via email, but just not sms for the phone option).

Same in Brazil 😢

 

[Ad47uk]

It’s intended to be a replacement.

Intended maybe, but I can't see it being a compleate replacement, as i have posted before, feature phones and basic mobile phones will never support it. They may be less of them around now and may get even less in a few years, but still more than you think. I am surprised at the number of people I know that just have a basic mobile phone and some of them are not oldies, in fact one of them are in their 30s.

I was reading some stuff about RCS and I did not know it was thought about in 2007, beforte Imessage and whatsapp, it did not gain any traction until Google took it up.
That is one of the problems with RCS, it is mainly a good thing even if it is a GSM Association standard, how many messaging apps on Android support it? Textra which I use certainly don't. Ok, I may be one of the few that don;t use Google own messaging app.

I don't use an Iphone, but also how good will Apple integrate RCS into the iPhone? It will only be used to message Android users, reverting to Imessage for Iphone to Iphone.

The original idea of RCS was for mobile phone networks to support it, but in the UK at least, two of the main network providers are now using Google to supply RCS, they are Vodafone and O2. So it seems like mobile phone networks not really that bothered with it and more or less saying well if Google wants it we will pay them a bit of money, and they can run it.

 

[Ad47uk]

Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to steer away from whatsapp outside the US. Unlike the other meta apps, whatsapp is used for everything outside the US from communicating with most of our contacts to restaurants’ to go orders to doctor appointments, work appointments, government services and many companies’ customer service. Basically for everything that americans would use SMS, the rest of the world uses whatsapp. Heck, in Mexico even the costco gas stations offer to send your digital invoice via whatsapp, not SMS, for the phone messaging option (they also offer to send via email, but just not sms for the phone option).

Well WhatsApp is used by a lot of people in the U.K, there are a fair few of us who don't and never have used WhatsApp, and it has not affected me. While there are companies that have Whatsapp support lines, or they ask you to use whatsapp for other stuff, they still have other ways of communication.

I know a few people who don't use it. SMS is fine, it does what it says on the tin.

 

[killhippie]

Well WhatsApp is used by a lot of people in the U.K, there are a fair few of us who don't and never have used WhatsApp, and it has not affected me. While there are companies that have Whatsapp support lines, or they ask you to use whatsapp for other stuff, they still have other ways of communication.

I know a few people who don't use it. SMS is fine, it does what it says on the tin.

I don't ever want to have a group chat unless its for work and I cant escape it. If I do want to chat as a group of friends I make a quick call to those involved. Then we all meet in the real world over coffee etc

If I'm texting someone its to ask a quick question. I detest long text based chats, text can be very tiresome I find. WhatsApp is very popular in the UK but its not a necessity. I prefer not to know what people think my neighbours are possibly up to, or what was said by a family member, let alone what their dog/cat just did 24/7/365 days. However that's just my messaging preferences.

 

[Ad47uk]

I don't ever want to have a group chat unless its for work and I cant escape it. If I do want to chat as a group of friends I make a quick call to those involved. Then we all meet in the real world over coffee etc

If I'm texting someone its to ask a quick question. I detest long text based chats, text can be very tiresome I find. WhatsApp is very popular in the UK but its not a necessity. I prefer not to know what people think my neighbours are possibly up to, or what was said by a family member, let alone what their dog/cat just did 24/7/365 days. However that's just my messaging preferences.

We have teams for work, I never use it myself, I don;lt see the point as we are all in the same building. Went to tell me something, then do it via mouth.
I am the same with long text based chats, I am not a fan of them either, Text is just for srot messages, whihc is why I don't see the point in RCS and will not use it.

As for group chats, I use Discord with a few people, they live in different parts of the country, so meeting all of them for coffee would not be easy, while I am on a small Islland, it is still large enough to make it a pain to meet people who live further away from me. Also, a couple are in different countries.

 

[lartola]

I don't ever want to have a group chat unless its for work and I cant escape it. If I do want to chat as a group of friends I make a quick call to those involved. Then we all meet in the real world over coffee etc

If I'm texting someone its to ask a quick question. I detest long text based chats, text can be very tiresome I find. WhatsApp is very popular in the UK but its not a necessity. I prefer not to know what people think my neighbours are possibly up to, or what was said by a family member, let alone what their dog/cat just did 24/7/365 days. However that's just my messaging preferences.

Nobody does, but in most countries other than the US and UK even the group chats for work are on whatsapp because most people in those countries use Android (about 8 out of every 10 do) and that makes imessage unusable for the purpose.

 

[Ad47uk]

Nobody does, but in most countries other than the US and UK even the group chats for work are on whatsapp because most people in those countries use Android (about 8 out of every 10 do) and that makes imessage unusable for the purpose.

At work a few years ago, a few people used WhatsApp for work stuff and after a few months they were told to stop using it, something to do with security.
12 months or so later, the company gave us access to teams, but it is still only a trial after 4-5 years and only 3 stores in the company has it apart from managers where all of them use Teams.
I don't't think it did as well as they thought it would and even in the store where I work, very few people use Teams, I don't bother with it, even Viva Engage which everyone in the company can use get very few users.

Imessage is only useful for Apple users, I used it once on my Mac, and then thouyght, no point in using it again as any messages sent to it, I will only get when I am using my Mac.

 

[SodaFountain]

Nope. It got End to End Encryption before iMessage (including its backups) and don't give me the whole "you can only trust Apple with your data" nonsense when Apple is just another digital business like all the others. You think they'd be lying about End to End Encryption? The EU would be up their a** so fast!

Let’s examine the track record.
Apple was asked to create a back door to their encryption by the FBI and they said no. They even went on to ignore a court order.

Meanwhile, according to a ProPublica investigation in 2020, reported on by BusinessInsider, Facebook had employed over a thousand contractors whose sole job was to comb through WhatsApp messages. This was all while Facebook was maintaining they were unable to read customers messages. In other words, lie.

Facebook also censored accounts and posts at the whim of the Biden campaign/administration. They’re abhorrent.

Again, using WhatsApp is not a flex, but rather something one should be embarrassed to admit.
I’ll stick with iMessage here in the US.

 

[lartola]

using WhatsApp is not a flex, but rather something one should be embarrassed to admit.
I’ll stick with iMessage here in the US.

Maybe in the US, but not in the rest of the world where for most people whatsapp is even a work tool and they can’t live without it so they have to swallow the ‘embarrassment’ if they feel any of it.

Personally, I’d stick to imessage if apple ever opened it to other platforms. As long as it’s apple-exclusive imessage is a piece of crap unless you live in the USA.