Bout f-ing time.
great if actually followed through, SMS needs to die off but RCS isnt even consistent across androids so I am not holding my breath quite yet but still a step up if true
That changes the calculus, particularly for privacy-oriented android users. Is E2EE with most potential recipients compelling enough to ditch FOSS SMS options & run GMessages with Play Services?
I’d argue even now before it’s cross platform, opportunistic E2EE between Google messages users is already worth it. SMS just doesn’t belong in the year 2025.
Once RCS on Google Messages works reliably for T-Mobile users on GOS my plan is to switch to using it (or switch carriers, depending on how long this takes) but its still kind of a mess right now.
I realize now I misspoke in my earlier comment. I agree - for stock android users, GMessages is a strong value prop, even with spotty E2EE
But I meant to single out GrapheneOS users, who can choose to free their device from privacy-invasive Play Services altogether. Without consistent E2EE, GOS users today weigh the value of sporadic E2EE against the cost of GMessage’s Play Services dependency. Many decide that crappy SMS is worth the privacy benefit of no Play Services. But with broad E2EE support, that tradeoff looks very different