Ahead of broader RCS adoption this year, Google Messages to improve security measures

Google Messages will warn users about visiting links sent by unknown users via RCS

It has been revealed that Google Messages will soon warn users about the risk of visiting links sent via RCS by users who aren't on their contacts list. This feature isn't live on the stable version of Google Messages yet and is under testing. It was spotted by Android enthusiast @AssembleDebug (via PiunikaWeb) in the latest beta version (20240402_01_RCO0) of Google Messages. An X user pointed out that this feature even works with links received via SMS. In recent Galaxy phones, the Google Messages app is the default SMS and RCS app instead of Samsung Messages.

With this feature, Google is ensuring that users understand the risk they are taking by visiting URLs (links) that they receive from people they don't know or aren't in their contacts list. Users must click the ‘Continue With Possible Risk checkmark and click Continue to visit the link.

RCS is a huge upgrade over SMS. It allows you to send long text messages, high-resolution images and videos, stickers, locations, voice messages, and more. It supports typing indicators and managing messages from the web. It supports group chats, individual message replies, and other advanced features.