Spam surge forces Google to turn off RCS messaging in India

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Unsolicited messages that continue to hound and irritate Indians in equal numbers have now forced Google to turn off its Rich Communications Services (RCS) in the country as it works with companies to improve the experience for end-users.

RCS was meant for businesses to send verified messages to customers. It not only allowed companies to send text messages but also add images and interactive elements.

“We are aware that some businesses are abusing our anti-spam policies to send promotional messages to users in India. We are disabling this feature in India while we work with the industry to improve the experience for users,” Google spokesperson Kaori Miyake told The Verge.

Through RCS, businesses keep customers informed about new products and services but it was misused by the companies who bombarded users with spam.

The frequency was a problem too, with companies clogging the message box with deals, pushing credit cards, promoting gambling and a lot more. Now Google has put its foot down and turned off the service in India.

While Google didn’t say when it would turn the business messaging service back on, it said it was working on a fix for the spam problem. The fix would be closely watched as users and the telecom regulators have struggled to fix the problem.