Pressure grows on Apple to open up iMessage

[Twisted Kidney]

This is just too late. The Borg have handed the internet to Google already. We must all accept that Google will control the information. Praise be the mergers and acquisitions! All hail the conglomerate!

Can we start the countdown to when democracies start hammer the shit out of evil inc Google. I think I can already hear the chisels getting ready to break her up.

 

[sfsuphysics]

"Trust us, we delete your messages within 24hrs, until we quietly change the ToS to reflect our prime directive: data equals money."

Actually I'm baffled why they'd even try bothering to qualify that they'd delete anything. For anyone that's paid attention

I mean you got your answer right there, most people dont pay attention, so saying they do so once is good enough for the majority

 

[DukenukemX]

You’re not advocating for freedom, you’re advocating for people and things to only do as you say and see fit, under the guise of freedom and ‘open source’

You sell lies and subjugation under your own ideals

Stop being a fanatical Borg

You mean have Apple port iMessage over to Android, and or adopt RCS to iMessage? How is that limiting anyone's freedom?

 

[staknhalo]

You mean have Apple port iMessage over to Android, and or adopt RCS to iMessage? How is that limiting anyone's freedom?

Because they don’t need to do any of that the current setup works fine - trying to force unnecessary things/mandates onto people who would gain nothing from it (Android and Android users would gain there, not Apple or Apple users) is limiting their freedom.

Let Apple do what they want. Android users can RCS each other and SMS iPhone users, iPhone users can iMessage each other and SMS Android users.

 

[Lakados]

You mean have Apple port iMessage over to Android, and or adopt RCS to iMessage? How is that limiting anyone's freedom?

Because RCS is good but RCS Universal is bad, Apple doesn’t want Google having the ability to spam iPhones with their advertising garbage.
So if Apple adopts RCS in its pure form it still wouldn’t work because RCS is not RCS Universal and Android Messages would still fall back to SMS, but Apple messages would deliver to Android over RCS as compatibility’s works forward but not backwards.

So for Apple they have gained nothing and now have to do more things they didn’t want to do in the first place.

 

[lopoetve]

I guarantee you that an episode of Rick and Morty with 105MB file size at 720P would look great. This is what happens when you send a video file through SMS to an iPhone user.

Why are you sending me videos through SMS? They're not going to arrive anyway.

Again, because I already said this, how long does it take to setup an account with any of these services?

About 45 seconds for telegram. Put in phone number, accept 2FA, input pin. About the same for signal.

Also email has limitations in how big of a file size you can send.

Email a link to youtube, etc.

One of the reasons people use iPhones is because they just work, which also means most iPhone users couldn't be bothered to go the extra steps needed to send and receive video files.

Because most people are putting them on facebook, or youtube, or tiktok, or whatever. Sending the actual file is very 2005. But if you want to do that, there are ways.

I assume this is also the case for Android. Defaults matter when the people you deal with can count to potato.

Apple cares, about their bottom line.

Hey grandma, I'm gonna need you to setup a Onedrive so I can send you a video. No grandma, I said Onedrive not go drive. I'll just send you a link from Imgur, just give me 5 minutes, 10 minutes tops. This what you want me to deal with?

Sure, if you actually understood how to do it. I send videos all the time - this is not actually an issue. I don't do it via the built-in basic communication app because all of them are for text, not actual media - there are better ways. Stop trying to shoehorn a need into a basic communication app. My 104 year old great aunt (RIP) was sending emails and newsletters just fine before she passed - and that was pre-facebook. If she can figure it out, so can yours. If there's a will, there's a way - and right now there are a dozen easy ways.

 

[Mchart]

Funny part is that 90%+ of the people I interact with at work and my family members all have iPhone. At family get togethers we just airdrop photos/videos to each other, or we share the iCloud library.

I really don't give a shit that one of my co-workers and one of my family members don't have an iPhone. There's enough that do that it's irrelevant. As for the Android users I know - They all are using Snapchat, etc to communicate anyways. They aren't relying on the shitty google text app, etc outside of basic SMS as it is.

 

[DukenukemX]

Because they don’t need to do any of that the current setup works fine -

It doesn't work fine with video media.

trying to force unnecessary things/mandates onto people who would gain nothing from it (Android and Android users would gain there, not Apple or Apple users) is limiting their freedom.

What you're saying doesn't make sense. How do you limit Apple users freedom by not allowing proper communication with Android users? What Apple is doing is techno feudalism. Apple is a warlord whose fortress has thick walls where nothing gets in and nothing goes out without getting blurry.

Because RCS is good but RCS Universal is bad, Apple doesn’t want Google having the ability to spam iPhones with their advertising garbage.

Now you're making shit up. When has Google ever sent spam through text messages? How is iPhone even immune to this since they still use SMS? Google's Messages is very impressive at blocking SMS spam. For iPhone users, not so much.

So if Apple adopts RCS in its pure form it still wouldn’t work because RCS is not RCS Universal and Android Messages would still fall back to SMS, but Apple messages would deliver to Android over RCS as compatibility’s works forward but not backwards.

How do you figure this? Currently only Google and Samsung have apps that can do RCS.

View: https://youtu.be/Rvr6XSFKJA8?si=LjbgcWsrAe70oovt

So for Apple they have gained nothing and now have to do more things they didn’t want to do in the first place.

Why do you care about Apple? Let Apple worry about their bottom line, while their users get improvements so they can better communicate with the world.

Why are you sending me videos through SMS? They're not going to arrive anyway.

They certainly arrived and they arrive blurry. Most recent example is me sending a video to someone who was interested in a kitten.

About 45 seconds for telegram. Put in phone number, accept 2FA, input pin. About the same for signal.

Email a link to youtube, etc.

Because most people are putting them on facebook, or youtube, or tiktok, or whatever. Sending the actual file is very 2005. But if you want to do that, there are ways.

These are all excuses and terrible ones. If everyone was using those methods then why does Apple covet iMessage? Sounds to me like no Apple user is using iMessage the way you describe it.

 

[lopoetve]

They certainly arrived and they arrive blurry. Most recent example is me sending a video to someone who was interested in a kitten.

No - I don't get cell service at home. If you send me an SMS it's likely to not arrive. It's why I rarely use SMS for communication in any form anymore - there are much better alternatives, since that's fundamentally a technology that is DECADES old at this point and sucks for almost everything except pure text. I use modern tools - discord, snapchat, telegram, signal, whatsapp, facebook messenger (ugh), and slack. All of those work fine for me and even for my late-70s family members. Even when I've had android devices I'm not using SMS or RCS - I'm using the universal tools that work across any platform including web and app, windows/linux/etc. Why rely on an ancient tool that has limited support for anything?

These are all excuses and terrible ones. If everyone was using those methods then why does Apple covet iMessage? Sounds to me like no Apple user is using iMessage the way you describe it.

Because they built a better tool for their users, if they choose to use it. I use imessage with one group of friends, and it has backwards compatibility for that once-in-a-while someone sends me a text since they haven't migrated to a better communication tool yet.

 

[lopoetve]

Let me flip this around - you use android, obviously, and I suspect your friends do to. Why is this an issue to you? Who are you trying to send media to that uses an iPhone that you can't? And why are you unwilling to use any of the other tools that exist?

 

[staknhalo]

It doesn't work fine with video media.

What you're saying doesn't make sense. How do you limit Apple users freedom by not allowing proper communication with Android users? What Apple is doing is techno feudalism. Apple is a warlord whose fortress has thick walls where nothing gets in and nothing goes out without getting blurry.

Now you're making shit up. When has Google ever sent spam through text messages? How is iPhone even immune to this since they still use SMS? Google's Messages is very impressive at blocking SMS spam. For iPhone users, not so much.

How do you figure this? Currently only Google and Samsung have apps that can do RCS.

View: https://youtu.be/Rvr6XSFKJA8?si=LjbgcWsrAe70oovt

Why do you care about Apple? Let Apple worry about their bottom line, while their users get improvements so they can better communicate with the world.

They certainly arrived and they arrive blurry. Most recent example is me sending a video to someone who was interested in a kitten.

These are all excuses and terrible ones. If everyone was using those methods then why does Apple covet iMessage? Sounds to me like no Apple user is using iMessage the way you describe it.

If it still doesn't make sense to you at this point it's clearly just because you're simply not capable of understanding it, it's a concept beyond your abilities, you'll just have to accept that (we're going to assume you're not merely playing dumb, because who would do that?)

 

[Darunion]

It is just going to come with a red text bubble and a banner at the top "this conversation is not secure and may be monitored by a 3rd party". Then you all will be happy right? lol

 

[staknhalo]

It is just going to come with a red text bubble and a banner at the top "this conversation is not secure and may be monitored by a 3rd party". Then you all will be happy right? lol

And if you send an episode of Rick and Morty to your grandma over SMS or RCS the cell company itself will ban you from contacting any other person, for the protection of others

 

[Darunion]

And if you send an episode of Rick and Morty to your grandma over SMS or RCS the cell company itself will ban you from contacting any other person, for the protection of others

Right?
I don't need friends on android now that i think about it. I cant trust telling them anything anyways

I am not sure what all this dead loyalty to google is coming from anymore. Didn't we all just throw a fit for the tracking they are doing in chrome? Now we are supposed to want them to handle our messages?

 

[Lakados]

It is just going to come with a red text bubble and a banner at the top "this conversation is not secure and may be monitored by a 3rd party". Then you all will be happy right? lol

And a warning that enabling RCS could result in you receiving unsolicited text based advertisements.

 

[staknhalo]

Right?
I don't need friends on android now that i think about it. I cant trust telling them anything anyways

I am not sure what all this dead loyalty to google is coming from anymore. Didn't we all just throw a fit for the tracking they are doing in chrome? Now we are supposed to want them to handle our messages?

That's what happens when you become blinded by and unwaveringly beholden to your own ideals/the ideals of the team you choose - you can no loner see things like practicality or reality ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Aurelius]

It is perpetually amusing how people will blast Apple fans for unquestioning loyalty (which, to be fair, is a problem for some) while simultaneously cheerleading for a rival... if not explicitly, then in practice.

No one should be so strongly attached to a company that they can't see themselves ever switching or offering direct criticism, and no company is beyond reproach. Google may offer a more open platform, and that's important for some people, but it's also notorious for collecting a mountain of user data and trying to lock people into its own ecosystem. I don't think Google is some evil tyrant spying on everyone, but I use its products knowing it doesn't always have my best interests in mind.

I mainly use Apple products and don't see myself jumping ship in the near future. But I know where I'd go if I had to leave (right now, I'd happily get a Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch), and I do think iMessage lock-in is creating problems.

 

[staknhalo]

It is perpetually amusing how people will blast Apple fans for unquestioning loyalty (which, to be fair, is a problem for some) while simultaneously cheerleading for a rival... if not explicitly, then in practice.

No one should be so strongly attached to a company that they can't see themselves ever switching or offering direct criticism, and no company is beyond reproach. Google may offer a more open platform, and that's important for some people, but it's also notorious for collecting a mountain of user data and trying to lock people into its own ecosystem. I don't think Google is some evil tyrant spying on everyone, but I use its products knowing it doesn't always have my best interests in mind.

I mainly use Apple products and don't see myself jumping ship in the near future. But I know where I'd go if I had to leave (right now, I'd happily get a Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch), and I do think iMessage lock-in is creating problems.

Apple, Nvidia, Google, AMD, Microsoft just want your money

Linux and Open Source just want your free labor

None are your friend

 

[Darunion]

Apple, Nvidia, Google, AMD, Microsoft just want your money

Linux and Open Source want your free labor

None are your friend

And consumer bickering is free marketing. Coke vs Pepsi

 

[staknhalo]

And consumer bickering is free marketing. Coke vs Pepsi

It's got what plants crave

 

[rgMekanic]

Holy shit the cult of Apple is out in force in this thread.

 

[Aurelius]

Apple, Nvidia, Google, AMD, Microsoft just want your money

Linux and Open Source just want your free labor

None are your friend

Exactly. I even bristle at the FOSS community, since it's frequently guided by rigid ideology that sometimes triumphs over practical reality. It's more important to have real-world freedom to get things done than "pure" theoretical freedom. (To be clear, FOSS and real freedom aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.)

RCS is important technology that could significantly improve interoperability. But it has its flaws, and there could be some negative consequences to Apple adopting it.

 

[Lakados]

Exactly. I even bristle at the FOSS community, since it's frequently guided by rigid ideology that sometimes triumphs over practical reality. It's more important to have real-world freedom to get things done than "pure" theoretical freedom. (To be clear, FOSS and real freedom aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.)

RCS is important technology that could significantly improve interoperability. But it has its flaws, and there could be some negative consequences to Apple adopting it.

RCS is good
RBM is terrible and an invasion of privacy
Decouple RCS from RBM and there isn't a problem, but Google does not want that to happen, Google and many of the telecoms are fighting to keep RBM as a bundled deal with RCS because of the added revenue streams it generates, so the decoupling of the two protocols is highly unlikely. As they won't be decoupled that makes RCS adoption a poisoned pill that I don't want anything to do with.

 

[DukenukemX]

I am not sure what all this dead loyalty to google is coming from anymore. Didn't we all just throw a fit for the tracking they are doing in chrome? Now we are supposed to want them to handle our messages?

What loyalty to Google? RCS can be implemented without Google's version. If Google's RCS doesn't work with standard RCS or whatever Apple uses, then we can flame Google. The whole thread is about Apple opening up iMessage anyway.

It is perpetually amusing how people will blast Apple fans for unquestioning loyalty (which, to be fair, is a problem for some) while simultaneously cheerleading for a rival... if not explicitly, then in practice.

Nobody is cheerleading Google. Nobody wants Google's version of RCS. Everyone is assuming that if Apple adopts RCS that they must also adopt Google's version of it. Apple could do the right thing and adopt regular RCS and refuse to communicate with Google's version of RCS.

Apple, Nvidia, Google, AMD, Microsoft just want your money

Linux and Open Source just want your free labor

None are your friend

You do know that Apple adopts a lot of open source into their products. According to Apple, it's literally at the heart of Apple's platform and developers tools. Pretty sure you use a number of open source products like Firefox and VLC. Open source projects do make money but not based on free labor.

Let me flip this around - you use android, obviously, and I suspect your friends do to. Why is this an issue to you? Who are you trying to send media to that uses an iPhone that you can't? And why are you unwilling to use any of the other tools that exist?

I don't limit myself to people who only use Android. I do end up using other ways to communicate with people when SMS sends blurry videos, and it's annoying. Also for some reason texts take a bit of time to make it to Apple users. Not sure why.

 

[Lakados]

Nobody is cheerleading Google. Nobody wants Google's version of RCS. Everyone is assuming that if Apple adopts RCS that they must also adopt Google's version of it. Apple could do the right thing and adopt regular RCS and refuse to communicate with Google's version of RCS.

But if they do this then what changes? It still falls back to SMS and its a net 0 move.
Google managed to get their version of RCS passed as the 5G standard, so any implementation of RCS following the 5G specifications is and must be Googles otherwise it will fail when communicating with the carrier and fall back to SMS.

And yes I understand that Google wants Apple to open iMessage to 3rd parties, but it’s so Google can add it to the MaaP platform and include iMessage in their unsolicited text advertising services.

 

[lopoetve]

What loyalty to Google? RCS can be implemented without Google's version. If Google's RCS doesn't work with standard RCS or whatever Apple uses, then we can flame Google. The whole thread is about Apple opening up iMessage anyway.

Nobody is cheerleading Google. Nobody wants Google's version of RCS. Everyone is assuming that if Apple adopts RCS that they must also adopt Google's version of it. Apple could do the right thing and adopt regular RCS and refuse to communicate with Google's version of RCS.

That's the problem - there is no such thing anymore. It's google's way or the highway - because that's the only one implemented. If apple adopted "baseline" RCS - it'd be yet ~another~ closed ecosystem - the fallback is SMS.

 

[kac77]

That's the problem - there is no such thing anymore. It's google's way or the highway - because that's the only one implemented. If apple adopted "baseline" RCS - it'd be yet ~another~ closed ecosystem - the fallback is SMS.

? The first manufacturer to implement RCS was Samsung. Not Google. Samsung's implementation is far more ubiquitous in Europe than Google by a long shot. Samsung implemented RCS back in 2012. The standard was created not by Google but by GSM. Google's implementation for end-to-end encryption is becoming the new standard. However, older versions of RCS are completely backwards compatible and still more in use than Google's implementation. Granted older versions will probably lose end to end encryption but SMS doesn't have that anyway.

 

[DukenukemX]

But if they do this then what changes? It still falls back to SMS and its a net 0 move.
Google managed to get their version of RCS passed as the 5G standard, so any implementation of RCS following the 5G specifications is and must be Googles otherwise it will fail when communicating with the carrier and fall back to SMS.

Apple could hold Google to the flame by enforcing standard RCS. A sort of uno reverse card against Google's RCS.

And yes I understand that Google wants Apple to open iMessage to 3rd parties, but it’s so Google can add it to the MaaP platform and include iMessage in their unsolicited text advertising services.

Not sure how Google can use iMessage for unsolicited text messages? As far as I know, I don't receive text messages from Google. Google Messages app blocks nearly all solicitation messages and then some. Even if Google were to, it's not like Android users are married to using Google's messenger..

 

[staknhalo]

Apple could hold Google to the flame by enforcing standard RCS. A sort of uno reverse card against Google's RCS.

Or they just keep the ace up their sleeve that is iMessage with SMS fallback

Google should make a product so compelling iMessage users want to switch on their own, vs hoping you’ll crusade enough to Borg everyone in the name of open source

 

[Lakados]

Apple could hold Google to the flame by enforcing standard RCS. A sort of uno reverse card against Google's RCS.

Not sure how Google can use iMessage for unsolicited text messages? As far as I know, I don't receive text messages from Google. Google Messages app blocks nearly all solicitation messages and then some. Even if Google were to, it's not like Android users are married to using Google's messenger..

If Apple opens iMessage that would allow 3’rd parties to integrate iMessage into their platforms. MaaP being the one they would want most.

https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/digest/messaging-platform-operator-opportunity/

Notice the GSMA’s language around RCA and MaaP, it’s not about being an open platform and increasing compatibility. It’s all about user tracking and revenue generation through integration with chatbots and advertising services.

Google has already gotten their RCS system shut down in 3 countries for the mass blasting of unsolicited text messages over their Android Messages platform, India was the worst but China and Korea had it happen too.

And sure Apple could hold Google to the fire and some how convince them to abandon their entire revenue stream plan for the technology and then work with the GSMA to revise the published 5G spec and replace the RCA universal specification with a different one and then work with the Telecom industry to patch their deployed hardware but I doubt they could even if they cared enough to try.

The GSMA may be a standards body, they may be the ones developing the standards they want everybody to use, but they are in the pockets of the Telecom industry, the GSMA looks after Telecom and their revenue streams first and everything else second.

 

[Mchart]

Or they just keep the ace up their sleeve that is iMessage with SMS fallback

Google should make a product so compelling iMessage users want to switch on their own, vs hoping you’ll crusade enough to Borg everyone in the name of open source

This exactly. Maybe they should offer a better product that iOS users would want. Of course, we all know the reality of the situation. iMessage is the best for reasons numerous, and Android users are just generally jealous although they won't admit it.

 

[MrGuvernment]

No one forces anyone to use iMessage, sure open standards are great, but there are options out there already, as already noted by many, use Signal or something, now try to convince everyone you know to have signal installed, and check it when you are the only person who messages them on it.... Luckily those I know and are close with, being spouse and close friends, they take my advice and use signal , anyone else though...forget it..like pulling teeth.

 

[DukenukemX]

This exactly. Maybe they should offer a better product that iOS users would want. Of course, we all know the reality of the situation. iMessage is the best for reasons numerous, and Android users are just generally jealous although they won't admit it.

What exactly does iMessage offer that isn't already on Android nearly 10 years ago?

If Apple opens iMessage that would allow 3’rd parties to integrate iMessage into their platforms. MaaP being the one they would want most.

Hate to tell you this but Beep already supports iMessage.

Google has already gotten their RCS system shut down in 3 countries for the mass blasting of unsolicited text messages over their Android Messages platform, India was the worst but China and Korea had it happen too.

You like to spew facts but rarely give sources. So I'm gonna have to ask for a citation needed.

And sure Apple could hold Google to the fire and some how convince them to abandon their entire revenue stream plan for the technology and then work with the GSMA to revise the published 5G spec and replace the RCA universal specification with a different one and then work with the Telecom industry to patch their deployed hardware but I doubt they could even if they cared enough to try.

The GSMA may be a standards body, they may be the ones developing the standards they want everybody to use, but they are in the pockets of the Telecom industry, the GSMA looks after Telecom and their revenue streams first and everything else second.

Just sounds like excuses with extra steps. Ultimately it won't matter when Apple is forced to allow side loading. At which point alternative repositories will be available. I don't like Google as much as Apple, but you gotta understand they're the same shit. Apple has shown that security is not their top priority. I'm sure Google wants to profit from RCS, but this is entirely up to many other corporations, including Apple. Also the argument that RCS is going to steal your data is kinda ridiculous since SMS has been doing this since forever. SMS is not encrypted and any messages you send and receive with SMS can be handed over to authorities, as Apple has done many times. Both RCS and iMessages does E2EE, but if Google isn't part of the RCS system then you probably have less to worry about authorities getting your messages with RCS than with Apple. As a reminder that Apple has handed over their users data to authorities 80% of the time. Google does it as well, but again the RCS system is not owned by Google. Again, as a reminder that RCS is GSMA's and it's been implanted into a lot of countries.

 

[Lakados]

You like to spew facts but rarely give sources. So I'm gonna have to ask for a citation needed.

This one is posted above but here’s one again.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.co...saging-in-india-heres-why/article65499722.ece

Incase adds or add blocker messed up the above link.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/04/g...n-india-following-rampant-spam-by-businesses/

 

[DukenukemX]

This one is posted above but here’s one again.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.co...saging-in-india-heres-why/article65499722.ece

Incase adds or add blocker messed up the above link.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/04/g...n-india-following-rampant-spam-by-businesses/

This is not so much Google's RCS as much as business's abusing Google's whitelist for use with spam. Because again, Google's Messages blocks spam. Google did take it down when people were complaining. I assume this was to allow for things like two factor and notifications.

 

[Lakados]

This is not so much Google's RCS as much as business's abusing Google's whitelist for use with spam. Because again, Google's Messages blocks spam. Google did take it down when people were complaining. I assume this was to allow for things like two factor and notifications.

But it’s Google who operates the servers and advertising services that they were abusing.

Those people were using Google’s advertising services and they were all going through because Google whitelists their clients.

That right there is what Google wants their clients to be able to do and that is what the GSMA MaaP and RBM protocols that have been cooked into the RCS standard that Google and the GSMA pushed as the 5g standard.

So it’s at best the worst case scenario of what our RCS dystopian hellscape looks like if the GSMA and Google get their way.

But why does something that is supposed to be a basic communication protocol have all that advertising tech baked into it. I could see that as a layer above it, something you could opt into or at least out of, but with how its currently implemented it’s not something that is immediately discernible as to what is and isn’t spam.
I don’t want to have to worry about text messages going to a spam folder that I need to monitor for what is and isn’t junk.

 

[DukenukemX]

But it’s Google who operates the servers and advertising services that they were abusing.

Those people were using Google’s advertising services and they were all going through because Google whitelists their clients.

This is again more about Google's block protection being circumvented than RCS. Yes it's on Google's servers but it wasn't meant to be used for spam. There isn't any real distinction between SMS and RCS spam, other than we know Google is hosting it.

So it’s at best the worst case scenario of what our RCS dystopian hellscape looks like if the GSMA and Google get their way.

If Apple were to support RCS, then they would have their own filter built it. It would likely just be built into iMessage. At which point you're beholden to Apple, not Google. At the moment it's Google or Samsung for Android users. Even Android users can block spam by adding it to the filter.

But why does something that is supposed to be a basic communication protocol have all that advertising tech baked into it. I could see that as a layer above it, something you could opt into or at least out of, but with how its currently implemented it’s not something that is immediately discernible as to what is and isn’t spam.
I don’t want to have to worry about text messages going to a spam folder that I need to monitor for what is and isn’t junk.

Text based advertisements are nothing new and Apple users are more susceptible to it than Android users. Unless Apple plans to block SMS, you will still get ads through texts. You also get ads through iMessage, so it's not like RCS is changing this. Google clearly wants to sell an advertising business through RCS, but again if the app blocks it then did the RCS ad go through? The only thing that'll change this is a good blocker that has an updated list. If Google were to push ads through RCS, you can bet a lot of users will switch to another app. Android phone manufacturers could include a different messaging app instead of Google's.

 

[Lakados]

This is again more about Google's block protection being circumvented than RCS. Yes it's on Google's servers but it wasn't meant to be used for spam. There isn't any real distinction between SMS and RCS spam, other than we know Google is hosting it.

This is not a block protection thing, this is a service Google offers as part of their Advertising business, nothing was circumvented, this was functioning as normal, Google simply underestimated the impact of releasing it to the wild.

If Apple were to support RCS, then they would have their own filter built it. It would likely just be built into iMessage. At which point you're beholden to Apple, not Google. At the moment it's Google or Samsung for Android users. Even Android users can block spam by adding it to the filter.

But if Apple supports base RCS that would not be the GSMA RCS Universal profile that they standardized for the 5G implementation so it would not function with any 5G towers that were following the spec, Apple would be essentially supporting yet another exclusive communication feature, I mean it wouldn't be proprietary but they would be the only one using it because Android has standardized on RCS Universal and RCS Universal is not RCS.
If Google Messages could block those messages why were users not just choosing to block them? Why instead did Google have to shut down its RBM services in the country to make it stop?

Text based advertisements are nothing new and Apple users are more susceptible to it than Android users. Unless Apple plans to block SMS, you will still get ads through texts. You also get ads through iMessage, so it's not like RCS is changing this. Google clearly wants to sell an advertising business through RCS, but again if the app blocks it then did the RCS ad go through? The only thing that'll change this is a good blocker that has an updated list. If Google were to push ads through RCS, you can bet a lot of users will switch to another app. Android phone manufacturers could include a different messaging app instead of Google's.

I can say that as an Apple user, I have never once received an advertisement through text, but that could be because I am Canadian and we have the CASL regulations, and it is prohibited for a business or enterprise to send me an electronic message without opt-in consent first. It's a holdover from when you had to pay for receiving text messages but it's certainly not one we want to go away.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

I can say that as an Apple user, I have never once received an advertisement through text, but that could be because I am Canadian and we have the CASL regulations, and it is prohibited for a business or enterprise to send me an electronic message without opt-in consent first. It's a holdover from when you had to pay for receiving text messages but it's certainly not one we want to go away.

We get them here in the states, but it's pretty limited. Apple implemented a bunch of tools to minimize it. Such as being able to report spam coming in from numbers and by using databases.
So when receiving spam calls, the call screen says that it's Spam that is if it's not "auto-ignored" (goes straight to voicemail). And texts from "unidentified" people are cordoned off.

EDIT:
You can see how all that works for phone calls here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207099
Here is how filtering works for text messages: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/block-filter-and-report-messages-iph203ab0be4/ios

 

[Lakados]

We get them here in the states, but it's pretty limited. Apple implemented a bunch of tools to minimize it. Such as being able to report spam coming in from numbers and by using databases.
So when receiving spam calls, the call screen says that it's Spam that is if it's not "auto-ignored" (goes straight to voicemail). And texts from "unidentified" people are cordoned off.

I’ve got one of those numbers that when you call it’s going to prompt you to press a random number to complete the call so auto dialers don’t work. So I get shockingly few of those.