Google Messages prepares to open up an RCS API to third-party apps

RCS, which stands for Rich Communication Services, is generally seen as the successor to SMS. It supports features like group chat management, higher quality file shares, read receipts, typing indicators, and end-to-end encryption. In order to use the RCS protocol for chats, it has to be supported by the network, the phone’s OS, and the phone’s messaging app through an API. American carriers dragged their feet for too long in adopting RCS, so Google bypassed them entirely and added their own RCS backend to the Google Messages app. However, on Android, only the Google Messages app can access Android’s RCS API. That could change soon with the new Android Messages API.

Back in 2019, we learned that Google was working on adding an RCS API. Sadly, the APIs were hidden from developers and can only be used by apps on a hidden allowlist — which includes the Google Messages app. While the Google Messages app has gotten a lot better lately, it’s still being updated with basic features you’ll found in plenty of other text messaging apps for Android. The problem with switching to one of those other apps is that you won’t be able to send messages over RCS, so you’ll lose out on all the features we talked about above. However, we found evidence that Google is working on an Android Messages API that will let any third-party text messaging app send SMS/MMS/RCS messages using Google Messages.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

Google Messages 8.5.024 is rolling out now on Google Play, and when we decoded the APK, we discovered the following new strings in its resources:

<string name="external_messaging_api_description">With this permission the app will be allowed to send SMS/MMS/RCS using Android Messages. It will have an access to send messages without any extra approvals.</string>
<string name="external_messaging_api_label">Permission to send SMS/MMS/RCS messages using Android Messages API</string>

These strings clearly describe a new permission that third-party messaging apps can request to be able to send SMS, MMS, or RCS messages through the Google Messages app. Within the Google Messages app’s Manifest file, we also found the new permission that messaging apps will have to declare:

<permission android:description="@string/external_messaging_api_description" android:label="@string/external_messaging_api_label" android:name="com.google.android.apps.messaging.EXTERNAL_MESSAGING_API" android:permissionGroup="android.permission-group.SMS" android:protectionLevel="dangerous"/>

The permission type is listed as “dangerous”, which means that it won’t be granted to a requesting app without a confirmation being displayed to the user. This is also hinted at in the strings embedded above, which state that an app that holds the permission can “send messages without any extra approvals”, implying that approval has to be given initially. The permission is grouped under the SMS category, which makes sense since it’s only intended to be used by messaging apps.

While we were hoping to see Google open up the Android platform’s RCS API, there’s potentially one big advantage to having Google Messages handle message routing. This could mean that all RCS messages sent through a third-party messaging app will use Google’s Chat service, which is thus far the most widely used RCS implementation since none of the carriers’ versions have taken off.

Google hasn’t announced this new Android Messages API yet, but we’re hoping to see it announced soon. Third-party text messaging apps are at a disadvantage right now since they lack RCS support, but this API will mean you can use your favorite text messaging app and enjoy the benefits of RCS. Of course, the third-party text messaging app will have to actually implement the new API, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be too difficult to implement.

Messages (Free, Google Play) →

Update: Shortly after we published this article, we learned that the strings and Manifest entry for the Android Messages API can only be found in the Google Messages app for Samsung Galaxy phones. It’s the same app and package name, but Google Play dynamically rolls out this version of the app to Samsung Galaxy phones. These entries were added in version 8.4.033 which rolled out about a week ago, so the API itself seems to be new. We aren’t sure why the entries only show up in the version of the app for Samsung phones, but it’s possible Google made the API so Samsung’s Messaging app can use Google’s Chat service without users needing to switch apps. However, we don’t see any indication the API is intended to be exclusive to Samsung’s Messages app beyond the fact it only exists in the version of the Google Messages app optimized for Samsung phones. Hopefully, Google opens up the API to all third-party messaging apps.

The post Google Messages prepares to open up an RCS API to third-party apps appeared first on xda-developers.

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