How to react to a text message on your Android phone
Liking or reacting to a message is an easy way to acknowledge a text. Thankfully, it is also very straightforward to like text messages on your favoritebudget Android phone. It is one of the many popular and handy features of RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging. The communication protocol offers upgraded features like typing indicators, message reactions, better encryption, and read receipts.
Here’s how you turn on RCS messaging and react to text messages on your Android phone.
RCS messaging just might be the way of the future
How to activate RCS messaging
Newer Android phones often have RCS activated by default. If your device does not have this, check if your carrier supports it. Most major US carriers, likeVerizonandAT&T, have RCS enabled. You may also need to activate it manually and check that your messaging app is compatible with RCS.
Most Android phones use Google Messages as the default messaging app, which we recommend because of its valuable features, such as end-to-end encryption, automatic birthday reminders, location sharing, and more.
If you’re already using RCS messages, you’re able to skip to theHow to like a text on your phonesection; otherwise, you’ll need to set up the feature in Google Messages. We use Google Messages as the primary example for RCS messaging.
The sender and receiver must turn on RCS messaging to react to texts.
How to activate RCS on Google Messages
Quickly learn the read receipt indicators
While Google Messages is the predominant platform for RCS messaging, Apple has anRCS-enabledchat if you use iMessage (requires iOS 18) on your iPhone. Samsung Messages also had RCS, but carriers previously phased this out in favor of Google Messages.Samsung recently restored RCS supporton its messaging platform in the S25 (despite having Google Messages as the default).
How to like a text message on your phone
Now that you have turned on RCS messaging on your Android smartphone, you’re able to like a text message or send message reactions. If you wish to undo a like or a reaction, you can only do it for your own likes and reactions.
If you reside in the US, France, Canada, or Australia, you could send likes and reactions inSMS/MMS messaging.
All those conversations right at your fingertips
How to change your text message reaction on Android
Apart from liking a text, you can choose to send any emoji as a reaction to a message. There are hundreds of supported emojis in RCS, giving you a variety of reactions to use as a response. You can even change your message reaction.
You can only send one reaction at a time per message.
Communicate with ease, no matter the app
Emoji reactions make conversations flow smoothly in RCS-enabled chats, providing typing indicators, read receipts, location sharing, high-res media support, and interactive emojis. And since Apple adopted the communication standard with iOS 18, texting between devices is simpler.
You can also try one of thebest messaging appsto stay connected with friends and family, but if you prefer the convenience and security of Google Messages, try thesegreat Google Messages tips and tricksto get the most of it.
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There are some things about google messages that are just not easy ṭo figure out. I like to clean up and delete messages within a thread. First I was having to do this one at a time which was soooo frustrating and took forever. Then I figured out how to do several at a time, which was less stressful but still more time consuming. Suggestion-A box, when touched, putting a check mark in for each conversation to delete, forward, download etc. So simple, it’s amazing you didn’t think of it first.
I finally left Textra. I held on as long as I could because it’s a damn near perfect texting solution.
Google Messages is very barebones with pretty much no customization but I’m hoping that changes. One thing that is driving me nuts is why can’t I, when I’m in a message and click details, images, why the heck can’t I select a bunch from there to delete them all at once? Why do you need to do them from within the chat? I get that I can hold one, scroll, find another, tap that, rinse repeat but it takes forever when certain people send you a crap ton of photos you want to clean up.
I’m only two days in with Google Messages. Is there a simpler way of doing this without just deleting the whole chat?
What about liking a picture?
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