Lounge
Technology: SMS pings back to life to cut out digital noise
Summary
WhatsApp fatigue has made many smartphone users return to SMS, and with inter-platform connectivity improving with RCS, their numbers may go up"Yes! I only use SMS," Gautam John, CEO of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, says when I ask him on SMS if he is indeed not on WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging platforms in India with more than 500 million monthly active users.
The 45-year-old based in Bengaluru says SMS, email and Signal are his primary modes of communication. Most of his personal and professional contacts know that sending him an SMS will fetch a quick response. “I am organized and have a good email workflow," John says during a phone interview. “My appeal (to still use SMS) is protection of mind space and time. I don’t like this hyperconnected, always-on universe."
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Rishi Alwani, 38, a Mumbai-based video games consultant and analyst, has always used SMS actively and stayed away from WhatsApp. “It’s become a habit," says Alwani. “A big disadvantage (of SMS) used to be the character limit and everyone typing ‘lyk dis’. Now it’s more about the recipient checking actual texts between the deluge of OTPs and spam," says Alwani. How does he ensure he doesn’t miss an important SMS? “I have notifications on for text messages and filter out OTPs to keep it clean via settings."
Despite the overwhelming popularity of WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps, there are those who continue to use SMS as a texting tool because they prefer a slower pace of communication and are keen to avoid the high noise-to-signal ratio of most messaging apps, especially on group chats.
Since the rise of these apps, the SMS inbox has largely become a repository of one-time passwords (OTPs) and spam for most of us, but that does not mean you can write it off. According to data from SMSEagle, a Poland-based company that makes hardware and software solutions to send and receive SMS messages, SMS open rates remained impressive worldwide in 2023, with nine in 10 individuals opening their SMS messages. Many users continue to use it as their primary mode of messaging.
The growth of RCS is also a testimony to the enduring appeal of SMS. RCS or Rich Communication Services is a communication protocol between mobile telephone carriers and between phone and carrier; at the user level, think of it as the updated avatar of SMS with a richer interface and multimedia support. With Apple aiming to bring in RCS support later this year, the messaging experience between iOS and Android is expected to improve further.
Messaging is fun again
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been having seamless conversations with at least two acquaintances (one who uses iOS and the other on Android) via traditional text messaging thanks to Google Messages, the RCS app on Android.
Between two Android devices, RCS messages are sent over the internet. However, currently, conversations between someone with Google’s RCS chats and a user on Apple iMessage are sent through SMS and MMS. RCS support will change that, offering a better interoperability experience as compared to SMS and MMS.
There are additional features that RCS brings, which takes the messaging experience close to what you see on other third-party messaging apps.
For instance, RCS chats show when someone is typing or has read your message, and vice versa. RCS also allows users to share files and high-resolution photos. Messages sent through RCS are also end-to-end encrypted. You can send GIFs and stickers, share your location and even send voice memos, complete with noise-cancellation and hands-free recording. Users can add custom bubbles and backgrounds to their chats. In some cases, you can even use AI with Google Messages to have a conversation with the Gemini chatbot. Another handy RCS feature that Google is slowly rolling out is the ability to edit messages. Users can turn on RCS chat in the Google Messages settings.
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During my conversations, the user interface on Google Messages has been fluid and minimal. Other apps are adding support for SMS too. Microsoft recently updated its Outlook Lite to introduce an SMS feature, which will let users manage emails and text messages under one app.
Apple’s entry into the market is further expected to drive the interest in RCS messaging. According to a January report by the UK-based Juniper Research, which specializes in market intelligence data on telecommunications and the Internet of Things, the number of active RCS users is expected to reach 2.1 billion globally by 2025. Currently, that number stands at around 1.2 billion.
The report also shows that RCS will become a key technology for operators in the business messaging ecosystem, given the high levels of fraud in the SMS business messaging sector.
The use of SMS—and now RCS—in the era of third-party instant messaging apps is another chance to look at how individual users manage their digital overload.
The Internet in India Report 2023 report by not-for-profit industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) showed that internet users in India have crossed the 800 million mark. Ninety per cent of them use the internet daily, spending an average of 1.5 hours. Apart from consuming OTT content, communication remains one of the top activities done on the internet in India.
A recent study by the Boston Consultancy Group revealed that 50% Indian users reach out for their smartphone unintentionally, without any clear action or choice of app. A telling stat, given how many of us have made a habit of looking at our phones for notifications.
Amitabh Kumar, founder and director, Social & Media Matters, a Delhi-based non-profit that works on tech public policy, online safety and digital parenting, says that while there’s a lot of discussion in the tech industry about smartphone notifications it’s clear that they are a huge distraction. “In the mind, and there are multiple theories about this, it’s just like somebody calling out your name," he adds.
On some users still sticking to SMS, he says: “This reminds me of the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The context: what are the choices we make? For the slow thinkers, SMS and emails are the way to go," he adds. “For fast thinkers, that might be too slow. They want the blue ticks; they want to see you typing," he explains.
Countering digital overload
John, who briefly tried WhatsApp on a second number but gave up using it, says he finds the intermingling of personal and professional communication on messaging services difficult to manage. “There’s also this pressure to be on every group. It keeps drawing you back to your phone," he adds.
There’s still a long way to go before traditional messaging matches the experience of, say, WhatsApp or Telegram. The growing popularity of RCS is a step in that direction. A big challenge would be to keep track of personal SMS messages amid the hundreds of transactional messages we all receive daily.
Back in the 2010s, Android smartphones were still slowly finding ground in the Indian market. Messaging apps like WhatsApp were only a year old. SMS was still a popular way to be in touch. For those who couldn’t afford big tariff packages, a limit of 100 daily messages or more was the norm. Every message was typed thoughtfully and concisely.
In a hyper-connected world where instant messaging and rapid-fire communication rule, traditional messaging may work as a counterbalance to our digital overload.
