Are there any (preferably FOSS) RCS/SMS/MMS apps as an alternative to Google Messages? I can’t convince anyone to switch to signal and would like to at least use an app that I trust. Eventually I’ll be moving to a privacy-respecting mobile OS so I’ll need an SMS app to run without Google Play Services, but I don’t want to totally miss out on RCS. Are there any alternatives? Is this even possible?
Well that fucking sucks. We need a standard, especially since iOS and Android can’t use any nifty features when talking to each other. Idk why people are so resistant to downloading telegram or signal when they gladly gobbled zuck’s balls to get Facebook Messenger, which is like the 3rd worst app ever invented.
The rest of the world has adopted other cross-platform standards, like WhatsApp in Europe. It’s only US users that are stubbornly married to SMS texting, so this is a uniquely American problem.
Yes, but also WhatsApp has its own set of privacy issues.
Sure, but my point is that there are plenty of “standards” that already exist. We don’t need a new one, we just need to use them.
Sorry, I should have been more clear. For my threat model, I’d rather use SMS than WhatsApp
That’s an interesting threat model. What about apps like signal though? Surely they are preferable to SMS?
Absolutely, Signal is preferred to SMS. I don’t trust Facebook/Meta with running code on my device or keeping my data secure.
WhatsApp is also owned by the Zuck. I’ll never install a Meta owned app unless I’m forced to.
My point wasn’t to say WhatsApp is good, my point is that there are a hundred alternatives that are better than SMS.
It is not uniquely American, it just isn’t a European issue. The U.S.is not the only place that defaults to sms.
Europe has historically been charged by the text message, the US not so much. So SMS became dominant in the US primarily because of that, but also because it’s the lowest common denominator and everyone supports it, no matter what phone you have.