5mo ago

Google Messages preps deleting sent RCS messages 'for everyone'

In June, the GSMA responsible for RCS finalized the latest standard with the ability to delete a sent message, and Google Messages...

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5mo ago

9to5google.com /2025/02/06/google-messages-rcs-delete/

16 comments

Seeing as how text messages are often used as evidence of abuse, cheating, or other awful acts I struggle to see this as a good thing.
- I was thinking how often it's used for business purposes. (There's already case law about emojis)
- Agreed, and you know they have a record of these deleted texts internally for their own reasons.
  
  Its supposed to be e2e encrypted messages but I'm skeptical about that too
- That's certainly an issue, but for me it was already quite useful for deleting unread obsolete messages (e.g. deleting "can you bring milk" after you realized that there still is some), or messages accidentally sent to the wrong person. I think limiting to a short time frame and/or only unread messages would solve most of the possible abuse.
  
  Why not just reply "Oh we have milk!". Why is deleting messages the best course of action when you can just communicate that you were misinformed?
I could have used this when I was drinking.
- I still drinking and I don't like this feature, ya said what ya said. Also anyone who cares keeps records.
  
  Well obviously you don't write mini novels attacking people you like because of some stupid tiny thing they may or may not have done when you're drunk, this would have helped me greatly back then.
I have an unpopular opinion in this it seems.
Like to me it's an obvious feature, the ability to delete after sending is standard on every other IM style tech out there. It makes sense RCS will have it as well.
Just from a comvienence point of view it would be amazing to have. Talked to them in person? OK I'll delete this since o longer needed. Sent the wrong item? I'll just delete it. Autocorrect fucked up and sent something atrocious to your significant other? Believe it or not, delete and try again.
Sure it could have issues with preserving court evidence but, they could also just screenshot or have something that logs messages.
Also looking at the implementation it looks like it's still going to show evidence that something was deleted much like how Facebook has it, where it says a message was deleted so it can still be used as this is where the evidence was, but they deleted it.
And judging by the fallback message shown, it's also entirely possible that it will be a setting much like how the RCS setting is, where you can toggle if it deletes or not.
Note that the client having this possibility means nothing until all rcs operators and aggregators also implement this feature.
- In practice, I'm sure this will just be a label that will go over messages on your preferred SMS app and Google Messages will be the only app that actually deletes them until they realize no one else is doing it
  
  It looks like that is how they're currently implementing it, they are sending to the providers as well but this is how they're doing it with the app itself currently. So you are correct if you're using anything that isn't Google messages currently it doesn't do anything
  I'm expecting this technology to eventually evolve to have a setting where it detects if the person you're sending to is currently on a technology that supports it and will warn you, like how the RCS system currently Works

16 comments