Is Google monopolizing android messaging apps

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Google Messages has officially claimed the top spot on the Play Store’s free apps chart. While this might seem like a win, it raises some serious concerns.

One of Android’s biggest strengths is its open nature. Unlike iPhone users who are stuck in Apple’s restrictive ecosystem, Android users generally have more freedom—especially when it comes to choosing apps. Although Google dominates Android, it hasn’t historically controlled every aspect of app selection.

However, this freedom is now shrinking in a critical area—text messaging. Google’s RCS (Rich Communication Services) protocol, which improves on SMS with better security and features, is now the standard. Carriers and even Samsung have ditched their messaging apps in favour of RCS-enabled Google Messages.

While Google Messages is a solid app, its rise to the top of the Play Store isn’t entirely driven by user demand. People are downloading it because they don’t have much choice. With no access to Google’s RCS API, third-party texting apps can’t offer secure, high-quality RCS texting. That leaves Google Messages and Apple’s iMessage (which is exclusive to iPhones) as the only viable options.

Ironically, Google has criticized Apple for not adopting RCS as the industry standard, yet it’s now mimicking Apple’s closed approach by withholding RCS from third-party developers. This keeps messaging clunky and insecure for those who don’t want to use Google’s app.

Some might argue that the push for Google Messages is temporary, providing a stable way to handle the new Android-to-iPhone RCS messaging. Plus, many Android users are better off with Google Messages over the unreliable carrier apps they used before.

But the solution is clear: Google must enable full RCS support for third-party developers to encourage competition and improve the texting experience for everyone.

(Source: 9to5Google)