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Google Messages' RCS badges are inching closer toward a public rollout

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They're widely available for Google Messages beta testers.

Google Messages RCS Chat features on a Pixel 6
(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Google Messages will soon add badges that designate RCS contacts separately from SMS/MMS contacts.
  • Aside from the small RCS badge on the New chat screen, RCS conversations will also use Dynamic Color theming.
  • This update is appearing more widely for Google Messages app beta testers, but has not reached the stable build just yet.

Google is working on a way to make it clear to users whether a person in their contacts is using RCS or SMS/MMS messaging, and it's getting closer to going live for everyone. Last month, an APK teardown revealed color and text badges for RCS contacts in the Google Messages app beta. It's now appearing widely for Google Messages beta testers, as spotted by Reddit users and reported by 9to5Google.

While the feature is still not available in the stable Google Messages app, this expanded availability for beta testers signals it is nearing a public release. The tweak aims to make it easier to see whether a user is messaging someone using RCS messaging or old-school SMS/MMS messaging. RCS can be more secure and feature-rich than SMS or MMS, delivering features like reactions, read receipts, and higher-quality video.

As such, it can be advantageous to know whether the chat you're starting is with someone using RCS or not. You might want to send a long video over RCS, but not over MMS. That's why a future update will add small RCS badges next to the contact names of people who have enabled the service, with no badge for SMS/MMS texters.

RCS tag is showing besides the RCS enabled phone numbers! from r/GoogleMessages

The change comes along with a new view for the New conversation page, which is now called New chat. Google Messages beta users will see this screen after tapping Start chat, and it'll eventually make its way to public users. RCS users will get Dynamic Color for their chats, serving as another visual cue separating new and old-school messaging options.

The update user-interface is appearing as part of Google Messages app beta version 20250527_01_RC00. While it's showing up more widely than before, it's still a limited rollout — likely occurring as a server-side push — exclusive to beta testers.

It's unclear when these UI tweaks for Google Messages will roll out for everyone.

Brady Snyder
Brady Snyder
Contributor

Brady is a tech journalist for Android Central, with a focus on news, phones, tablets, audio, wearables, and software. He has spent the last three years reporting and commenting on all things related to consumer technology for various publications. Brady graduated from St. John's University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. His work has been published in XDA, Android Police, Tech Advisor, iMore, Screen Rant, and Android Headlines. When he isn't experimenting with the latest tech, you can find Brady running or watching Big East basketball.

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