# RCS messaging

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/rcs/

13 people recommended RCS messaging in Hacker News comments, 10 had mixed feelings and 69 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. Standard that replaces SMS with group chats and encryption across iPhone and Android. Common caveat: critics say Google controls it and only some clients get its encryption.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Google controls the standard (8 comments in the sample): "RCS is technically superior (protocol, transport, security, all of it) but is captured from the start on the technical level by design by the big…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49591169)) "Google added the encryption extensions a full two years before the GSMA put them into the standard so it feels like their new chat app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45976680)) "RCS is the same as WhatsApp et al., only that the app you are using doesn't tell you that Google will monitor all your communications" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45979488))
- Encryption limited to some apps (1 comment in the sample): "A server can whitelist which devices are allowed to connect to it. And of course Google uses this, allowing only Google-certified devices and Apple devices." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49670693))
- Standard shaped by big players (1 comment in the sample): "It just lacked E2EE for the longest time, which makes sense when you consider that the police and secret service have their tendrils in the…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45977345))

## Why people recommend it

- Better than SMS and MMS (4 comments in the sample): "RCS is a modern replacement for SMS/MMS with end-to-end encryption (E2EE) support via MLS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49593736)) "A bundled, cross platform E2EE protocol is a huge step above SMS and MMS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49591442)) "It is still a better option than SMS/MMS and providing it is beneficial." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49591456))
- End-to-end encryption on many devices (2 comments in the sample): "The point is to access an e2ee protocol bundled by default on many devices, and is cross-platform." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49591480)) "RCS provides properly working group chats and end-to-end encryption with iOS and GMS Android users" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49593690))
- Group chats across platforms (1 comment in the sample): "Now, with RCS, you can make a functional group chat across platforms and you don't have to convince anybody to install something new." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49591968))

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "RCS messaging", https://hackerapproved.com/p/rcs/ (13 recommend, 10 mixed, 69 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.