--- title: "RCS 101: the phone's own messaging app, with a brand name and buttons" summary: "What RCS business messaging is, how a rich message reaches a phone and falls back to SMS when it cannot, what it costs, the approval and consent rules, and when the upgrade is worth it." canonical: https://cpaas.co/en/learn/rcs-101 kind: explainer depth: foundation origin: original published: 2026-10-13T16:26:18.899Z updated: 2026-10-14T16:26:19.711Z topics: ["RCS", "Messaging", "Fundamentals"] language: en --- # RCS 101: the phone's own messaging app, with a brand name and buttons ## At a glance [RCS](/en/learn/glossary#rcs) (Rich Communication Services) is the mobile industry's successor to SMS. The GSMA, the association of mobile operators, defines it in a shared specification called the Universal Profile[^1]. It works inside the phone's built-in messaging app. In its business form, which Google calls RCS for Business (also known as RCS Business Messaging, or RBM), messages arrive from a verified brand with its name and logo, and can carry images, rich cards, carousels and suggested replies[^3]. ```diagram:compare | RCS business messaging | What it means for you What it is | SMS upgraded: brand, media, buttons, read status | Richer messages to the same phone numbers Who runs it | Mobile operators, on the GSMA's Universal Profile | Availability is decided operator by operator Reach | Phones and networks that support it, where business messaging is live | Always paired with an SMS fallback Who may start | Either side; the brand is verified and approved first | Approval comes before the first send How it is priced | Per message, or per 24-hour conversation; US prices by content type | Rich messages usually cost more than basic ones Best for | Updates that need an action: track, rebook, confirm | Messages that replace a call or a visit Avoid for | Messages that must reach everyone, one-time codes | Codes gain little from rich content > As of October 2026. ``` The idea is simple: keep the phone number as the address, keep the app people already open every day, and add what chat apps made normal. The catch is that a rich message only arrives as RCS when every link in the chain supports it. ## How it works ```diagram:path # The path of one rich message Your system | Composes the rich version and the SMS version | Both versions and the number Provider | Checks whether the number can receive RCS now | The rich message, or the SMS Operator's RCS service | Delivers to the phone over its data connection | The rich message Messaging app | Shows the verified brand, the card and the buttons | Delivered and read events Your system | Records which version arrived, and what the person tapped | ``` 1. **You register an agent.** The "agent" is your brand's identity on RCS: name, logo, colours, a description and contact details[^3]. Brand verification comes first and is done once per agent, however many networks you launch on; once the agent is verified and launched, Google Messages shows a verification checkmark beside its name[^24]. 2. **You launch it network by network.** Approval is given per operator. Where Google manages the launch, Google says approval typically takes one to three business days once the brand has confirmed by email; where the operator manages it, each operator may contact the brand itself, and some require a direct agreement first[^25]. 3. **You check capability.** Before each send, the provider asks whether this number can receive business RCS right now. The answer depends on the handset, the operator and the person's settings, and it changes, so it is checked at send time rather than stored. 4. **The rich message travels over the phone's data connection** through the operator's RCS service and appears in the default messaging app, with your verified name at the top of the thread[^1][^3]. 5. **Events come back, and anything that cannot go as RCS goes as SMS.** RCS can report delivered and read, and which button the person tapped; SMS can only report delivered. The fallback is an ordinary text with all of SMS's limits on length and script (see [SMS 101](/en/learn/sms-101)). ### What a rich message can hold - **Rich cards and carousels:** an image or video, a title, a short description and buttons, alone or in a swipeable row[^3]. - **Suggested replies and actions:** chips the person taps instead of typing, such as "Confirm", "Reschedule", "Track parcel", "Call us" or "Open map"[^3]. - **Read status:** whether the message was read, if the person has not turned it off. ### How it differs from a chat app RCS is not an app people download, and there is no separate account: the address is the phone number, and the conversation sits in the same thread as the person's texts. That is its advantage over chat apps, which reach only people who installed them, and its constraint, because the operator, not the business or the app maker alone, decides whether the rich version can be delivered. It also means a customer who has never heard of RCS can receive it without doing anything. ## A short history RCS was an industry specification for more than a decade before it became a practical channel for businesses. - **The operator years.** In 2008 the GSMA took over an industry initiative, begun by operators and equipment makers, to define a common upgrade to SMS: the Rich Communication Suite[^14]. Early versions did not work the same way on every network. - **Google steps in.** In September 2015 Google bought Jibe Mobile, a company that built RCS technology for operators, and said Android would adopt RCS[^15]. In November 2016 the GSMA's Universal Profile, one shared version of the specification for every network, had its first launch: Sprint in the United States, with Google, backed by 58 operators, device makers and operating-system providers[^16]. The GSMA has published new versions of the profile regularly since[^1]. - **China's "5G messaging".** In April 2020 China's three state-owned operators, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, published a white paper committing to RCS-based "5G messaging" on compatible phones, built on the Universal Profile and backed by major handset makers[^17]. - **Android's default.** In August 2023 Google made RCS the default for new and existing users of its Messages app[^18]. By March 2024 Google had reported more than one billion monthly active users with RCS in Google Messages[^19]. - **The iPhone.** When Apple added RCS in iOS 18 in September 2024, RCS stopped being, in many markets, a feature that worked only between Android phones[^2]. - **Encryption.** In March 2025 the GSMA published Universal Profile 3.0, which defines end-to-end encryption for RCS messages and files[^21], together with specifications based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol so that encryption works between apps from different companies[^5]. In May 2026 Apple and Google began rolling out encrypted chats between iPhone and Android in beta[^8][^23]. - **Newer profiles.** Universal Profile 4.0, announced in March 2026, added video calls started from inside a conversation, richer text formatting and business features such as video inside rich cards and control over how links open[^6]. Universal Profile 4.1, in July 2026, focused on making encryption work reliably between different apps[^7]. ```diagram:timeline # From an operator standard to both phone platforms 2008 | The GSMA takes on RCS | An operator-led upgrade to SMS September 2015 | Google buys Jibe Mobile | Android commits to RCS November 2016 | First Universal Profile launch | Sprint, with Google April 2020 | China's operators commit to 5G messaging | RCS-based, on compatible phones August 2023 | RCS on by default in Google Messages | For new and existing users September 2024 | iPhone adds RCS in iOS 18 | Support on both major phone platforms March 2025 | Universal Profile 3.0 | End-to-end encryption between apps March 2026 | Universal Profile 4.0 | In-chat video calls, video in rich cards May 2026 | Encrypted iPhone–Android chats begin | In beta, on supported carriers July 2026 | Universal Profile 4.1 | Encryption that works reliably between apps > A specification is not a deployment: each feature reaches people only when apps and operators ship it. ``` Two things have not changed. RCS still runs through operators, so reach is decided network by network. And business messaging is still business messaging: approval, consent and content rules apply. ## Where it is used The potential audience is large. The GSMA counts about 5.8 billion unique mobile subscribers, around 70% of the world's population[^13], and every one has a phone number that RCS can address in principle. Google has published two figures for actual use: more than one billion monthly active users with RCS in Google Messages, reported by March 2024[^19], and more than one billion RCS messages a day in the United States alone, as a 28-day average, in May 2025[^20]. Both count people's chats as well as business messages, and capable phones rather than people a business can reach. In practice a rich business message reaches a person only after three gates[^2][^3]: ```diagram:flow # Three gates between a rich message and a person The handset | Does the phone's messaging app support RCS? Since iOS 18, most modern phones do. The operator | Has the recipient's operator switched RCS on? This varies by country and network. Business messaging | Is it live on that network, with your agent approved? A further commercial gate. It arrives as RCS | If any gate fails, the SMS fallback goes instead. > The gates multiply: the reach that matters is the share passing all three. ``` That is why reach differs so much by place. On the iPhone, RCS needs a carrier that supports it, and Apple says availability varies by region and carrier[^22]. For business messages, Google's partner documentation treats every launch carrier by carrier, some managed by Google and some by the operator[^25]. We found no official, public list of the countries and networks where business RCS is live, and no independent, dated figures for business reach by region. Ask providers for reach per operator, in your countries, and for business messages specifically. The pattern by region, in general terms: - **Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific alike:** the questions are the same everywhere: which operators have launched business messaging, on which phones, and how long approval takes. The answers are market by market. - **China:** the three operators' 5G messaging is their own RCS-based service, set out in their 2020 white paper[^17]; check it with providers who work with those operators. - **Where chat apps dominate:** in markets where most people already message businesses on a chat app, RCS competes with an app people chose; where SMS is still the default for businesses, RCS upgrades a channel people already rely on. ## What businesses use it for RCS pays where a message replaces an interaction: - **[Notifications](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/notifications)** with an action: a delivery update with "Track" and "Change day" buttons. - **[Booking](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/booking)** and **[no-shows](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/no-shows):** a reminder with "Confirm" and "Reschedule" chips. - **[Commerce](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/commerce):** order confirmations, boarding passes and tickets as cards. - **[Marketing](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/marketing):** offers as carousels, with consent. - **[Support](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/support):** a conversation with a verified brand, handed to a person when needed. - **[One-time codes](/en/ecosystem/use-cases/otp):** possible, but they gain little. A code is six digits; reach and speed matter more than presentation. A verified sender is a benefit on its own. SMS has no strong sender authentication, which is why scammers imitate banks and parcel firms by text. With RCS for Business, the brand is verified before launch and shown with a checkmark[^24]. ## What it costs Google's billing documentation for operators sets out two models: a standard model used outside the United States, and a separate US model[^4][^10]. - **Outside the US.** An agent is either non-conversational, billed per message, or conversational, billed per 24-hour conversation. Messages are recorded as basic (text only, 160 characters or fewer) or single (rich content, or longer text). On 20 November 2025 Google merged its older Basic Message and Single Message agent categories into one Non-conversational category, and it began moving existing agents across on 16 March 2026[^4]. - **In the US.** The price follows the content, not the agent's category: a rich message carries text, suggested replies or certain suggested actions; a rich media message carries media, rich cards, carousels or more complex actions. For a conversational agent, once four rich or rich media messages, at least two from the person and at least one from the business, are exchanged within 24 hours, all the messages in that window are billed as one session. US carriers set the prices[^10]. ```diagram:checklist # What goes into an RCS bill Messages by type | Basic or rich outside the US; rich or rich media in the US Conversations, for conversational agents | One price for a 24-hour session Every SMS fallback | Billed as SMS, per segment Approval and vetting | Per brand, where a market charges for it [!] One blended price | It hides how much went rich and how much fell back ``` Two other costs are easy to miss: - **The fallback is paid at SMS rates.** Every message that cannot go as RCS goes as SMS, billed per segment (see [SMS 101](/en/learn/sms-101)). - **Approval can carry a fee.** In the US, The Campaign Registry's April 2026 guide lists an RBM vet at $75[^9]. There is no public universal rate card. Ask each provider for prices per country and operator, how conversations are counted, and how fallback is billed and reported. ## Rules and regulation This is a summary, not legal advice. - **Verification and approval before sending.** Each agent's brand is verified, then approved for launch on each network; operators can decline brands or use cases[^3][^25]. Google says that for certain carriers, launching will require a valid verification token issued by a recognised verification authority[^24]. Plan for verification and approval per country, before the launch date, not as part of it. - **Platform policies.** Content and conduct rules for business messaging are set out in Google's RCS for Business documentation and enforced through approval[^3]. - **Consent.** RCS marketing is marketing to a phone number. In the EU, the ePrivacy Directive defines "electronic mail" as any text, voice, sound or image message sent over a public network that can be stored until collected, and requires prior consent for direct marketing by electronic mail[^11]. In the UK, the ICO expects specific consent for each type of electronic marketing, asked separately[^12]. The safe course everywhere is to treat RCS marketing exactly like SMS marketing, with the same opt-in and opt-out records. - **The person's own controls.** On an iPhone, people can turn off RCS business messages in the Messages settings[^22]. - **Sender registration you already hold still matters.** Your SMS fallback uses an SMS sender, so the SMS registration rules in each country apply to it; see [SMS 101](/en/learn/sms-101) and [sender registration around the world](/en/learn/sender-registration-around-the-world). - **Data protection.** Business RCS messages pass through operators and platform providers; the privacy notices and data-processing terms of each apply. The end-to-end encryption rolling out in 2026 covers person-to-person chats[^8], and on the iPhone only when every participant's carrier supports it[^23]. ## Limits and pitfalls - **Partial reach.** A share of your audience will always get SMS. If the SMS version does not stand alone, part of your audience receives an afterthought. - **Stale capability flags.** Whether a number supports RCS changes when people change phones or operators. Check at send time; treat "unknown" as "no". - **People can opt out of the rich version.** iPhone users can switch RCS business messages off[^22], so they receive your fallback instead. - **Feature mismatch.** A new feature in the specification reaches people only when apps and operators ship it[^6][^7]. - **Blended reporting.** Mixing RCS and SMS results into one average describes nobody. Report them separately. - **Comparing different audiences.** RCS recipients may own newer phones on better-served networks. Compare rich and plain within the RCS-capable group, at random. - **Approval delays.** Launch dates slip when verification and per-network approval are treated as launch tasks rather than prerequisites[^25]. - **An unregistered fallback.** If the SMS sender behind your RCS programme is not registered in a country, the fallback is filtered or blocked there, and the customers you most needed to reach miss the message. - **Assuming read receipts.** People can turn read status off, so "not read" may mean "read, but not reported". Measure taps and outcomes, not reads alone. ## Strengths and weaknesses ```diagram:compare | Strengths | Weaknesses Identity | Verified brand name, logo and checkmark | Verification and approval before the first message Content | Images, cards, carousels, reply buttons | Two versions of every message to design and test Evidence | Delivered, read and tapped | Only for the share that receives RCS Reach | The phone's default app, no download | Varies by operator, phone and country Cost | Can replace a call or a visit | Rich messages usually cost more than SMS ``` ## What comes next - **Features in the specification.** Universal Profile 4.0 brings in-chat video calls, richer formatting, video in rich cards and link control[^6]; 4.1 strengthens encryption between apps[^7]. Both reach people as apps and operators implement them. - **Encryption across platforms.** Encrypted iPhone–Android chats began rolling out in beta in May 2026, for person-to-person messages; Apple says support comes with supported carriers and will roll out over time[^8][^23]. - **Verification tokens.** Google has said that launching on certain carriers will require a token from a recognised verification authority[^24]. - **More operators.** Business messaging availability continues to expand network by network; there is no single date to wait for, so check your own markets with providers. ## When to choose it ```diagram:decision # Is RCS worth adding for this message? Does the message ask for an action, like track, confirm or rebook? | | Send it as SMS Is business RCS live on the networks your customers use? | | Send it as SMS for now Can you write an SMS version that stands alone? | Add RCS, with SMS as the fallback | Fix the SMS version first ``` Choose RCS to upgrade messages you already send by SMS when a button or a picture changes what people do, and when your customers' networks support business messaging. Keep codes and urgent alerts on the simplest path. To compare it with the other fifteen channels, see [which channel for what](/en/learn/which-channel-for-what). ### Four questions for a provider - On which operators in our countries can you deliver business RCS today, and to which phones? - How long do verification and launch approval take in each country, and who handles them? - How do you bill rich messages, conversations and SMS fallback, country by country? - Is fallback automatic, configurable per message type, and reported separately from RCS? See the [RCS channel page](/en/ecosystem/channels/rcs), and read [what RCS changed](/en/learn/what-rcs-changed) and [RCS in an existing SMS programme](/en/learn/rcs-in-an-existing-sms-programme). ## Sources [^1]: [Universal Profile](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/networks/rcs/universal-profile/) — GSMA, accessed 2026-10 [^2]: [RCS Now in iOS: a New Chapter for Mobile Messaging](https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/article/rcs-nowin-ios-a-new-chapter-for-mobile-messaging/) — GSMA, accessed 2026-10 [^3]: [RCS for Business](https://developers.google.com/business-communications/rcs-business-messaging) — Google for Developers, accessed 2026-10 [^4]: [Standard billing FAQ (RCS for Business)](https://developers.google.com/business-communications/rcs-business-messaging/carriers/billing/rbm-billing-faq) — Google for Developers, accessed 2026-10 [^5]: [RCS Encryption: A Leap Towards Secure and Interoperable Messaging](https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/article/rcs-encryption-a-leap-towards-secure-and-interoperable-messaging/) — GSMA, 14 March 2025 [^6]: [From Rich Text to Video: RCS Universal Profile 4.0 has arrived](https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/article/from-rich-text-to-video-rcs-universal-profile-4-0-has-arrived/) — GSMA, March 2026 [^7]: [RCS Universal Profile 4.1: Stronger foundations for secure messaging](https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/article/rcs-universal-profile-4-1-stronger-foundations-for-secure-messaging/) — GSMA, July 2026 [^8]: [End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging begins rolling out today for Android and iPhone users](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/android-ios-end-to-end-encrypted-rcs-messaging) — Google, May 2026 [^9]: [The Campaign Registry CSP User Guide (fees for RBM vetting)](https://www.campaignregistry.com/wp-content/uploads/CSP-User-Guide_Apr_2026-v2_comp.pdf) — The Campaign Registry, April 2026 [^10]: [US billing FAQ (RCS for Business)](https://developers.google.com/business-communications/rcs-business-messaging/carriers/billing/us-billing-faq) — Google for Developers, accessed 2026-10 [^11]: [Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32002L0058) — EUR-Lex, 12 July 2002 [^12]: [Guide to PECR: Electronic mail marketing](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/) — Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), accessed 2026-10 [^13]: [The Mobile Economy 2026](https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/) — GSMA, March 2026 [^14]: [GSMA To Take Rich Communication Suite Forwards](https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/gsma-to-take-rich-communication-suite-forwards/) — GSMA, 2008 [^15]: [Google Acquires Jibe Mobile To Help Adopt New Standard For Carrier Messaging](https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/30/google-acquires-jibe-mobile-to-help-adopt-new-standard-for-carrier-messaging/) — TechCrunch, 30 September 2015 [^16]: [GSMA Welcomes First Launch of Universal Profile for Advanced Messaging](https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/gsma-welcomes-first-launch-universal-profile-advanced-messaging/) — GSMA, 4 November 2016 [^17]: [Chinese operators make major RCS commitment: Whitepaper](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/networks/latest-news/china-operators-make-major-rcs-commitment-whitepaper/) — GSMA, April 2020 [^18]: [Google's Messages app will now use RCS by default and encrypt group chats](https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/08/google-messages-will-now-use-rcs-by-default-and-encrypt-group-chats/) — TechCrunch, 8 August 2023 [^19]: [New features to celebrate Messages' 1 billion RCS users](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/7-new-messages-features/) — Google, accessed 2026-10 [^20]: [A billion RCS messages are sent every day in the U.S.](https://blog.google/products/android/billion-rcs-messages/) — Google, May 2025 [^21]: [GSMA RCS Universal Profile 3.0 specifications](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/networks/gsma_resources/gsma-rcs-universal-profile-3-0-specifications/) — GSMA, 13 March 2025 [^22]: [Turn on RCS messaging on your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/122195) — Apple Support, accessed 2026-10 [^23]: [End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging begins rolling out today in beta](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/05/end-to-end-encrypted-rcs-messaging-begins-rolling-out-today-in-beta/) — Apple Newsroom, May 2026 [^24]: [Brand verification (RCS for Business)](https://developers.google.com/business-communications/rcs-business-messaging/guides/launch/brand-verification) — Google for Developers, accessed 2026-10 [^25]: [Launch approval (RCS for Business)](https://developers.google.com/business-communications/rcs-business-messaging/guides/launch/launch-approval) — Google for Developers, accessed 2026-10 --- Published by the company behind five products in this category. 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