Signal-android: RCS-e integration

[jonas-koeritz]

Signal should incorporate sending messages via RCS-e. SMS integration is already awesome. RCS-e is being pushed as the next generation messaging protocol by some telecommunication providers but they are all lacking a good app to use the service. Signal could make use of an existing RCS-e service (already present on some devices) or get an option to download the generic RCS-e service APK by the GSMA. Integration guides are readily available.

[moxie0]

thanks but we're not going to do this before it becomes a thing

[paulohefagundes]

@moxie0 now this is a thing. Google Messenger 2.0 now supports RCS. Can we look into this for Signal?

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/11/03/rcs-going-live-google-messenger-users-enabling-enhanced-features-sms/

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/11/04/google-makes-rcs-support-messenger-official-will-default-smsrcs-app-sprint-android-devices/

[rabbit81586]

Yes please look into this

[n4rky]

And then there's http://www.androidcentral.com/what-rcs-and-why-it-important-android

Yeah, I think it's a thing. Notably, apparently Verizon only pretends to support it ("not officially in any way that the GSMA feels is compliant"), so this brings that functionality to Verizon users.

[ebkalderon]

Sprint and T-Mobile are planning to roll out standards compliant support this year. T-Mobile in particular is going to implement RCS in early 2017. As stated before, Google Messenger 2.0 already supports the protocol. I'd advise reopening this issue and have RCS support in Signal working from the get-go.

[jcsp101]

Second this - RCS is now starting to be available for T-Mobile users as well:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/01/31/rcs-support-messenger-going-live-t-mobile-users/

[ocram]

I see why telecommunication providers would want this, with people using messengers over the data channel which does not monetize that well for the providers. But what's in it for the consumer, given that the data channel is available and Signal (and other messengers) work fine this way?

The limited resources of this project may better be dedicated to other issues, right?

[jcsp101]

@ocram there is still benefit to the consumer in implementing it since it allows for a better messaging experience with those that DO NOT have Signal but DO HAVE RCS messaging, especially since it looks like it is on its way to becoming standard across different carriers/platforms.

[kvithayathil]

Google just released an this update on the state of RCS

[thefotios]

This might be even more relevant now. http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/23/15045086/google-hangouts-sms-messaging-removed

They're pushing Android Messages as the defacto app and with it also pushing RCS forward. Would be great to get Signal on that bandwagon.

[MartinX3]

CLX Communications today announced it is working with cloud mobile marketing platform provider Waterfall and Google to enable brands to reach mobile users with a rich, dynamic, app-like experience using rich communication services (RCS) messaging

PS:
@moxie0 Please reopen this ticket. :+1:

[TekBoi]

It's a thing now. Plz incorporate this feature.

[tuxracer]

@moxie0 If RCS is supported cross platform is could bridge the gap for iMessage users reluctant to use Signal because they lose typing indicators, read receipts, and the ability to send/receive high quality images. Taking those three things away is a major barrier for some users to switch away from iMessage. This is the Github issues for the Android Signal app but if more iOS users switch to Signal it makes the app more useful and appealing for Android Signal users as well.

Even putting iOS aside - Signal providing typing indicators, read receipts, and the ability to send/receive high quality images all over SMS would be an incredibly appealing to many users (many who probably don't even realize this is even possible over SMS via RCS)

[moxie0]

I think RCS is an acronym for "too little, too late" and I'm skeptical that carriers will ever support this in a reliable way that interoperates, but I'm not opposed to doing it should I prove to be wrong. However, right now there isn't even a spec for RCS as far as I can tell, so I don't see how we would even put it in Signal if we wanted to.

[pchclx]

+1 for this, hate to think switching to Signal means I'm missing out on an important feature I could be getting in Google Messenger. thanks!!

[ebkalderon]

@moxie0 That is incorrect. A cursory Google search shows that there have been 6 major versions of the RCS specification, with the sixth version split into Release 1 (released 2016) and Release 2 (coming in the Q2 of 2017). Here is the latest RCS specification, available straight from the GSMA specs page.

EDIT: There are currently 60 companies backing RCS and Universal Profile, 47 of which are network operators.

[moxie0]

Thanks for the link. But man, that might be even worse than no spec -- a zip file with 8 PDFs containing over 600 pages of wheels within wheels indistinguishable from parody based on SIP. Maybe I'm wrong and that shit is going to work, but damn, lol if that's the future.

[ebkalderon]

Looks like there is an open source implementation of the stack already available for Android with rcsjta.

[SalamanderSandwich]

Android device running 7.1.1, sprint network, default messenger app sends RCS messages if it exceeds the SMS character limit. Please add support for this. I can't use signal anymore.

[minecrawler]

@moxie0 https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/22/17038768/business-rcs-text-interactive-android-messages

[MartinX3]

MMS is did since it's birth.
SMS got killed by unfree, monopolistic messengers because of it's lack of features.
RCS is the approach to connect every owner of a mobile device with an open protocol, like XMPP does it.

[ghost]

Implementing RCS support in Signal would be a really good idea, if for no other reason than mitigating a negative feedback loop of the network effect. Follow me here: people using Signal will start using Android Messages instead for their non-Signal users due to the demand of advanced features by those non-Signal users. Eventually, some people may consider that keeping Signal as a separate app is more of a hassle and uninstall.
If the argument is "wait until this is a thing", that day has already happened. In the US, if both parties are on Sprint, RCS is active and in use, but if only one of those parties is using Signal (me) you revert all the way back to SMS when send to a non-Signal user.
I've tried converting people to Signal...some simply can't be reasoned with.

[n4rky]

It sounds like Google is moving the goalposts on RCS:
https://www.androidcentral.com/google-evolve-android-messages-chat-using-rcs-shelve-allo

This is, at this point, a rather old thread. Does anyone know the current
status?

On Thu, Apr 19, 2018 at 6:58 PM, James Bell [e-mail]
wrote:

Implementing RCS support in Signal would be a really good idea, if for no
other reason than mitigating a negative feedback loop of the network
effect. Follow me here: people using Signal will start using Android
Messages instead for their non-Signal users due to the demand of advanced
features by those non-Signal users. Eventually, some people may consider
that keeping Signal as a separate app is more of a hassle and uninstall.
If the argument is "wait until this is a thing", that day has already
happened. In the US, if both parties are on Sprint, RCS is active and in
use, but if only one of those parties is using Signal (me) you revert all
the way back to SMS when send to a non-Signal user.
I've tried converting people to Signal...some simply can't be reasoned
with.

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[minecrawler]

At this point, we are sacrificing convenience for security. Something no normal user will accept. Getting people on Signal is hard enough as it is, but now, with Signal not even supporting the basics anymore, it's more likely that people will ditch it rather than me convincing new people.

Maybe this documentation will help @moxie0

[erkkijakobson]

@minecrawler even with RCS in place, how could one convince anyone with abandoned iPad support? https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-iOS/issues/1068

[minecrawler]

@herbig might as well be time to abandon Signal in favor of Riot,... But last time I checked, Riot still had severe UX and usability issues :(

[haffenloher]

Hey everyone, please respect the developers' (and everyone else's) time and inboxes and don't use the issue tracker as a discussion forum. You're currently sending out notifications to >600 people with every post. If you want to continue the discussion, you're welcome at https://community.signalusers.org/.

[herbig]

@minecrawler why was I mentioned here?

[minecrawler]

@herbig sry, I wanted to mention @erkkijakobson , but it seems something went wrong.