RCS (Rich Communication Services) is an advanced messaging protocol designed to replace SMS and MMS. It enhances text messaging with features like:

✅ Typing indicators (see when someone is typing)
✅ Read receipts (know when messages are read)
✅ High-quality media sharing (send photos and videos without compression)
✅ Group chats (with better functionality than MMS)
✅ Wi-Fi messaging (send texts over Wi-Fi instead of just cellular)

RCS is often referred to as “Chat” on Android and is backed by Google. It works through the Google Messages app and requires RCS-enabled carriers to function. Unlike SMS, RCS messages are sent via the internet rather than traditional mobile networks. However, RCS is not end-to-end encrypted by default, except in some cases like one-on-one chats in Google Messages.