What if I just want my phone's text messaging app to only do text messages? What if I don't want fluff features like voice messages that I didn't ask for? Is there a simple vanilla text messaging app to take over texts on my phone since Google feels the need to add extra weight to Messages, an otherwise simple feature that all cell phones share?
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2023
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Luckily you're on android and not an iPhone. You can go ahead and install whichever text messaging handling application you would like in its place to use and switch the default app.
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(6 replies)
I personally use QKSMS, which isn't perfect, but it's all I've been able to stand since Signal dropped SMS support.
This RCS stuff scares me a bit, because it sounds like it will function over a data connection and not be nearly as universal of a standard as SMS/MMS is. There are already a million such apps and standards if one wants to use data for messaging. Trying to sneak it on top of SMS is very annoying. If I use my SMS app, I want my messages to be sent as such. Getting a surprise data bill shouldn't be a fear.
RCS does function over a data connection (and WiFi!), however unless you're sending large files over the wire it's probably not going to have any effect on your data bill. Text messages are a handful of kilobytes large at worst. SMS/MMS have lots of issues to do with security and capability, and most handsets support it in some form already.
Not everyone has a large data plan. I am very aware of how much messaging taxes my data plan: the entirety of my data is already used by it.
Then disable RCS chats in the settings? I doubt traditional SMS is going anywhere soon.
Not if you want RCS. Google still refuses to make a user-level API for some reason. So you can only use the messenger app bundled with your phone for RCS.
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Textra, QKSMS, NextSMS, PulseSMS, and so on. Many (most, all?) are much better than Google.
Pulse is shit now, it's been acquired by a sketchy company.
Bummer. I used it for years.
Maybe an old version from apkmirror?
Yes, that could work. I just switched to Google Messages which, other than being from Google, is pretty good.
For years I used Textra. It did SMS amazingly. I only switched to Google Messages for RCS support, although I believe Textra added that now.
I'm not seeing that it does RCS. Would love to see a Foss app that does. Anyone?
None do yet, because Google doesn't publish an API for apps to use RCS.
Another reason I say fuck RCS.
None will, Google is slowly closed-sourcing the entire platform. Messaging was one of the next steps. Also why apps like Signal won't be seeing carrier messaging in the future.
The fact we need Google and phone carrier approval to use the system is a reason to drop it.
I don't get why some people are so offended by a piece of software having features they aren't interested in using.
For me, the one feature I want from messages is sending text messages when I don't have an internet connection. If "having features [I'm not] interested in using" means it breaks the one feature I want (by default & without telling me), seems reasonable to be a bit peeved, no?
The connection between having a feature you don't want and missing one you do want is entirely in your mind. If you're going to complain, why not complain about what's actually bothering you?
I thought I was already complaining about what's actually bothering me π
They're also apparently adding markdown which is neat, but considering all the recent Google news of them trying to lock down the web, I'd rather they focus on adding an RCS API so other apps can exist...