After working on the technology for many years, Google finally brought its Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging support for Google Messages in India back in 2019 to compete with WhatsApp and various other messaging platforms. Apart from hosting various features, the app is also home to spam. According to many user reports, the feature is being misused by advertisers in India to deliver unwanted ads in huge volumes. Check out the details below to find out more!
What is RCS? (& How It Will Change Texting Forever)
According to a recent report by 9to5Google, citing Indian tipster Ishan Agarwal, many companies such as Kotak Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, PolicyBazaar and more are abusing the Rich Communication Services (RCS) support in Google Messages to deliver a massive amount of rich media ads to Android users in India. The companies send out several advertisements to promote their products and services to Android users every day, which has frustrated many users in the country. You can check out Agarwal's tweet attached just below. Google Messages is becoming the worst Google app imaginable. The amount of ads it sends is crazy, several every day. Yes, these are NOT messages, these are ads sent by the app to 🇮🇳 Indian users. It is the default messaging app on most Android phones here. 😑 pic.twitter.com/8EYnIh5cd9 — Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) May 16, 2022
Google Messages is becoming the worst Google app imaginable. The amount of ads it sends is crazy, several every day. Yes, these are NOT messages, these are ads sent by the app to 🇮🇳 Indian users. It is the default messaging app on most Android phones here. 😑 pic.twitter.com/8EYnIh5cd9 — Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) May 16, 2022
These ads are not based on users' online shopping or purchasing activities. Instead, these random ads appear in their Google Messages app (a standard messaging app on most Android phones), regardless of their digital activities. Some users even reported that the ads are delivered to smartphones without an active SIM card.
