The Google Messages platform is continuing to evolve, we’ve seen the addition of RCS with Telstra and soon we may see reactions added too. The team at 9to5Google has discovered through an APK teardown some code strings that suggest the changes are close to ready.

APK teardowns and Beta access to programs can give a glimpse of what may come at a later time. That is not a guaranteed delivery though and with Beta access, some functions may be unfinished or not yet working. So if you’re using a critical device to your daily workflows, approach with caution.

The pieces of code that brought the potential forward refer to adding reactions and fallback text. This is delivered to people as a text when you’re chatting to them and they can’t receive the reaction as they’re not on RCS.


<string name=”add_reaction_for_photo_rcs_fallback_text”>\u200b%1$s\u200b a photo</string>
<string name=”add_reaction_for_text_message_rcs_fallback_text”>\u200b%1$s\u200b \\”%2$s\\”</string>

It’s nice to see the continual development of the messaging platform from Google, but Given how small the footprint of RCS in Australia is at this time, it may be a while before these functions gain huge traction.

Will you use reactions via RCS, or are you too heavily tied to other messaging platforms

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Alan Cramer

Real question is will this feature work with Telstra RCS as this is a standalone implementation of RCS instead of using Jibe RCS.