Google Messages has officially secured the number-one spot on the Play Store’s free apps chart. While this may be seen as a point of achievement, current circumstances make it a serious cause for concern.

One of the most compelling aspects of the Android operating system is its “open” nature. While iPhone owners are forced to endure Apple’s “walled garden” draconionsm, Android customers enjoy relative freedom. Yeah, Android is permanently tethered to Google, but Google can’t dictate all of your choices on an Android smartphone, particularly when it comes to app selection.

However, this freedom is disappearing in one key area—text messaging. Google’s RCS protocol, which eliminates the outdated limitations and security flaws of SMS, has become the agreed-upon standard for messaging. Carriers have ditched their texting apps in favor of the RCS-enabled Google Messages, and Samsung is doing the same.

Google Messages is a solid app. However, its ascent to the top of the Play Store rankings is not built upon true merit or customer demand. People are downloading Google Messages because they have no other option. You can either get on board or wait for your preferred messaging app to die.

As of now, Google doesn’t offer its carrier RCS API to third-party Android developers. If you want secure, high-quality RCS texting, Google Messages and Apple iMessage are your only options (the latter is only available on iPhone, of course). I can’t help but point out the irony of the situation; Google repeatedly criticized Apple for failing to “support the industry standard for modern messaging (RCS)” and begged EU regulators for intervention. Now, after making such a big stink about anticonsumer practices and walled gardens, Google is copying the iMessage playbook by withholding RCS and suffocating third-party messaging apps.

The lack of RCS on iPhone made cross-platform messaging a crappy and insecure experience. While Google should be praised for its role in forcing Apple to adopt RCS, the lack of third-party RCS support ensures that messaging will continue to be crappy and insecure for those who refuse to use Google’s app.

I can play devil’s advocate and take on a more optimistic tone. The sudden push for Google Messages may be a temporary thing—it’s the easiest way to ensure that newfound Android-to-iPhone RCS messaging will be reliable and consistent. And, generally speaking, the forced transition to Google Messages has benefitted a large segment of Android users who previously relied on their carrier’s awful messaging app. It’s not all bad.

Unfortunately, I find it hard to take these optimistic arguments to heart. Google needs to encourage competition on its platform by providing full RCS functionality to third-party app developers. That’s the only acceptable way forward.

Source: 9to5Google