Google Messages is about to discontinue a useful feature for individual conversations which lets users choose to use traditional SMS and MMS messaging for particular contacts instead of depending entirely on Rich Communication Services (RCS).
First reported by Android Authority, Google is preparing to remove the option that allows users to switch specific conversations between RCS and SMS/MMS. The report highlighted that recent beta updates for Google Messages indicate the company is phasing out this setting, and users will no longer be able to manage messaging protocols on a per-contact basis.
The blue chat bubble means RCS is on, but I’m still waiting on the lock icon that’s supposed to follow it.
For context, SMS stands for Short Message Service and is the basic text-only messaging that’s been around since the 1990s. MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) builds on SMS by allowing you to send photos and short videos, but both are limited and pretty basic by today’s standards. RCS — which now supports cross‑platform messaging with iPhones (Apple added RCS support in recent iOS releases, and RCS end‑to‑end encryption arrived in 2026) — lets you send high‑res images and videos, see when someone is typing, get read receipts, create big group chats, and more. RCS works over Wi-Fi or data, making regular texting feel a lot more like popular chat apps such as WhatsApp or iMessage.
Although RCS is usually, nowadays, the standard for messaging on Android, it may from time to time encounter problems or be plagued by spam. In the past, the app included a detailed solution in the form of a switch found in the individual chat settings, enabling users to revert a particular conversation back to the older SMS system without affecting the rest of RCS.
Clues that this flexibility is being removed were found in the latest beta version of Google Messages. Reviewers noticed new wording and hidden notifications in the app that hint that the option to switch between RCS and SMS for individual chats is going away.
“The ‘Only send SMS & MMS messages’ setting is going away. Switch now, or let it update automatically.”
For ordinary users, the loss of the individual contact toggle means having to adopt an ‘all-or-nothing’ method. After the update has been rolled out on a wide scale, it will become less convenient to manage how you text your contacts who cause connection bugs or are spam. If you encounter issues with RCS or receive spam, you can still take steps such as blocking unwanted contacts or reporting spam messages directly within Google Messages. These built-in tools help you maintain control over your conversations and limit disruptions, even if switching protocols for individual contacts is no longer available.
When the change takes effect, users wanting to avoid RCS for a particular chat will only have a couple of alternatives left.
You can turn off RCS completely throughout the app, but you’ll lose features such as end-to-end encryption, read receipts, and the ability to share high-quality images in all your other conversations.
You can depend on the app’s native fallback feature, which automatically defaults to standard SMS and MMS only after an RCS message delivery officially fails—usually due to weak cellular or data coverage.
Beyond this upcoming settings shift, Google Messages has continued to roll out modern interface improvements, and with manufacturers like Samsung fully migrating users from legacy proprietary apps over to Google Messages, it functions as the universal default messaging hub for nearly the entire Android ecosystem—making interface adjustments like this impactful to a massive global user base.
Google has not yet fixed a definite date for the change, but the beta signs indicate that the move away from individual SMS overrides is progressing down the pipeline. Bear in mind though, it might never make it out of beta.
Typically, new features and changes introduced in beta versions of Google Messages can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months to reach all users, depending on the speed of the rollout. Users should expect to see this update gradually as Google pushes the change to everyone via future app updates.
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Thou dost protest too much…if you enable Google Messages to automatically resend as text if RCS doesn’t work then the problem goes away.
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