Back in the days, I switched from Iphone 3G to Motorola Defy in order to benefit from more customisation. I'm now back into Apple ecosystem since iPhone 6, actually on iPhone 13 but i'm very tempted by GrapheneOS. Going back to Motorola would please me, as I loved this little Defy. Do you think there's any chance to have RCS messages without Google involved ? I want group messages without having to install Whatsapp and not all my contacts are on signal.

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fc417fc802 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> I want group messages without having to install ...

Well now I'm confused. I've always received SMS as fallback when my contacts add me to RCS group messages. But apparently this doesn't always work according to people on the internet at large?

Unfortunately most people still think they're "texting" and have no idea Google and Apple pulled a bait and switch. Meanwhile on my end I receive emoji react spam, each emoji as an independent message, in an incredibly verbose form that quotes the entire message.

It's simultaneously misleading people, a DoS against non-BigTech clients, and monopolistic. The mobile ecosystem just keeps getting worse and there's no sign of regulations fixing it any time soon.

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Groxx 11 hours ago | parent [-]

It's supposed to work by downgrading everyone involved if any are not on RCS, because there is no other option. Which has been working fine for me at least, normal MMS issues aside (MMS delivery is often awful). RCS keeps an "is X using RCS?" list on their servers, and every attempt to message someone checks that (with a local cache)... and like >99% of those servers are Google, at this point, so it should be pretty consistent.

That said, I have no idea how often that fails in practice.

And that is how reactions are sent in SMS/MMS. Your app just isn't recognizing them to display them nicely. Maybe try a different one?

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fc417fc802 10 hours ago | parent [-]

> And that is how reactions are sent in SMS/MMS.

Imagine if IRC clients started adding such functionality. Certain protocols and conventions are useful precisely because of their minimalism.

Google and Apple are already running their own walled off proprietary messaging platforms. There was no need to tamper with SMS.

	▲	Groxx an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I'm personally opposed to RCS (it's basically all Google / no real federation, horrifyingly complex because messages can have action buttons and whatnot, and DOES NOT have E2EE despite many implications for years - the newest spec this past year includes it, but nobody does it yet), but SMS and MMS are so incredibly terrible for basically every purpose that I'm entirely fine with attempting to replace it. But since RCS has become such a mess, and is so anti-competition (you can't make your own app, or servers), I think the answer is now extremely clear: don't use your telecom's messaging system at all, they are all by far the slowest, least reliable, and least private option. App-based messaging is better in almost all practical cases, and I think it's also a healthier future to head towards.

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throawayonthe 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

afaik RCS does work but only with google services