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?
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.
It is not uniquely American, it just isn’t a European issue. The U.S.is not the only place that defaults to sms.