There are a handful of ways that Google Messages on Android signals you’re having an RCS conversation, and the app is now testing a small change to the primary indicator.
At the moment, the text field says either “Text message” or “RCS message,” with the latter originally being “Chat” before an early 2023 change where Google embraced the standard’s name. The other main indicator is the end-to-end encryption lock icon.
Google is now testing a change where the indicator says “(RCS)” for some Messages users, while it becomes “(Text)” for SMS/MMS conversations. One upside is that it’s shorter, with “message” a bit unnecessary given the context. On the other hand, the parentheses look unwieldy, if not vaguely technical, and could probably be removed to simplify things further.
This is not yet widely rolled out, with two reports of this change so far. It follows another tweak to Google Messages in recent weeks that made the send button more colorful.
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