Meta To Drop Messenger’s SMS Support in September

The age of the SMS is one step further to its conclusion.

Meta quietly announced in its Messenger app Help Center that SMS support will no longer be available on its Facebook messaging app on Android devices starting late September.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc., previously launched Messenger in Aug. 2011; it has the ability to send and receive SMS messages to a user's phone number since 2012.

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Goodbye, SMS

Meta mentioned on its Messenger Help Center page that its Facebook Messenger app for Android devices can no longer send or receive SMS messages as early as Sept. 28. As such, people using Android devices can longer use Messenger to send and receive SMS messages once they update the app after Sept. 28.

Unfortunately, Meta didn't provide a reason as to why it is removing SMS support for Messenger. However, the removal of Messenger's SMS support could be due to Google's push for Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging, per 9to5Google.

Meta isn't one for lack of trying, however. The company added SMS support on Messenger in 2012 and dropped it in 2013. It eventually revived SMS support again in 2016, per a Facebook Messenger post, with SMS kept separate from web-based communications - SMS conversations have a purple theme, while those made online were blue.

However, the popularity of SMS messaging steadily declined as secure messaging apps became the norm for communicating with people in an instant. This decline is primarily due to Google's push for RCS messaging in 2015 in the US, per AQL and SlickText.

You may recall that Google previously released a statement saying the time for the entire mobile phone industry to switch from SMS to RCS messaging has come. SMS messaging doesn't have the ability to send and receive high-quality photos and videos without switching to a different protocol, nor could it be encrypted to prevent bad actors from reading them.

The company also argued that RCS messaging has become the industry's modern standard, completely replacing SMS in the process. Aside from Apple, all of the major mobile carriers and manufacturers have adopted RCS messaging as their go-to messaging service.

Interestingly, Google previously announced in early June that AT&T would soon have its RCS platform as its default Android messaging system to grant its subscribers access to the latest RCS features instantly. Such a decision is proof that SMS' days are at an end.

How To Remove Messenger As Your Defaly SMS App

Android users using Messenger as their default SMS app would be wise to switch to another app to send and receive SMS messages as early as now. To do so, they must follow these simple steps:

Open the Settings App and select Apps
Open Default Apps
Select SMS app and pick an app to replace Messenger as their device's new default SMS app.

Android users can still send and receive SMS messages through their cellular network and access their SMS message history through their phone's new default messaging app. Those who wouldn't change their default SMS app from Messenger will have their SMS app automatically go to their phone's default messaging app, such as the Android Messages app.