San Francisco (The Hawk): End-to-end encrypted RCS (Rich Communication Services) group chats are now being tested by Google and will be made available to some users in the open beta programme over the next few weeks.
According to the blog post, this feature will encrypt one-on-one texts sent using Messages by Google so they are private and safe and can only be seen by the sender and receiver.
In a blog post, Google said that RCS not only makes messaging safer but also more enjoyable.
RCS allows you to send and receive high-quality images and videos, view real-time typing indicators and read receipts, name group discussions, add or remove friends from group chats, and text over Wi-Fi, among other features that SMS texting lacks compared to what smartphones can do, it continued.
To adopt RCS, a more advanced version of SMS that includes features like typing indicators, delivery confirmations, and read receipts, Google has been pleading with manufacturers and carriers.
Additionally, it has started campaigns to persuade Apple to use this standard in its own Messages app.
"Aside from Apple, all of the major mobile carriers and manufacturers today have accepted RCS as the industry standard. When people with iPhones message people with Android phones, Apple refuses to implement RCS and instead relies on SMS, which means that their texting is stuck in the 1990s, according to Neena Budhiraja, group product manager for the Messages app.
Hopefully Apple will "get the message" so that the "acegreen-versus-blue bubble" controversy can be resolved once and for all.
(Inputs from Agencies)