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Google has disabled RCS business messaging in India, following reports of businesses abusing the feature for spamming users with unwanted ads. Google’s Rich Communication Services, or RCS messaging service is a way to upgrade the traditional SMS with features such as richer texts and end-to-end encryption.
As pointed out by a 9to5Google report, RCS business messaging was meant to be a way for businesses to share essential information with users such as copies of their travel tickets or sending links for purchasing additional products based on a past purchase, depending if a user has requested it.
However, over the past few weeks, the feature was being used by businesses including many financial services brands to spam users with unwanted ads.
Since Google Messages is the default messaging (SMS) app on Android smartphones and comes preloaded with the phone, the issue was widespread. Users were being spammed with such messages from verified business accounts, at times, not necessarily the result of a user’s buying activity.
Google has thus decided to pause RCS messaging for businesses in India, one of its biggest markets as it works with industry players for a better experience, TechCrunch reported.
As quoted by Android Authority, Google, in a statement, had said, “We are aware that some businesses are abusing our anti-spam policies to send promotional messages to users in India. We are disabling this feature in India while we work with the industry to improve the experience for users.”
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