Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google introduced an RCS improve for 911 texting final 12 months, and the rollout is anticipated in winter throughout the US.
- Consistent with this rollout announcement, we’ve noticed new code inside Google Messages that factors in the direction of enabling RCS texting for emergency companies.
- RCS emergency texting on Android will allow options like location sharing, higher-quality media sharing, and extra.
Calling 911 is probably not the very best answer throughout sure emergencies, regardless that it could be the simplest technique to get assist. In sure conditions, it’s possible you’ll must contact emergency companies extra discreetly, and that’s the place texting 911 turns out to be useful. However as with all issues SMS, the fundamental SMS service could possibly be pretty limiting in what you possibly can convey in your messages, and that’s the place RCS is available in.
911 texting is overdue for an RCS improve on Android. Google introduced final 12 months that it had partnered with RapidSOS to improve 911 name facilities throughout the US to assist RCS-based text-to-911. The improve to RCS will enable customers to verify message supply, ship high-resolution pictures and movies, share exact areas, and extra.
An APK teardown helps predict options that will arrive on a service sooner or later based mostly on work-in-progress code. Nonetheless, it’s potential that such predicted options might not make it to a public launch.
Upgrading name facilities is one piece of the puzzle. The opposite is to make sure that the function works on Android flagships. For this, Google has added a brand new flag within the newest Google Messages v20250129 that allows RCS-based text-to-911:
Code
bugle.enable_emergency_rcs_messaging
Moreover, Google has additionally added new strings for sharing location with emergency companies:
Code
<string title="message_emergency_action">Message %1$s</string>
<string title="banner_message_emergency_title">You can be requested to permit location entry to Messages</string>
<string title="emergency_toolstone_location_permission">%1$s location entry to Messages</string>
<string title="emergency_toolstone_location_permission_link">Enable</string>
On condition that Google had talked about a winter rollout for RCS-based text-to-911, we’re on monitor for the function to change into obtainable to Android customers. We’ll maintain you up to date once we study extra.