New Google Chat is like Apple iMessage for Android phones – but it’s got one major flaw
GOOGLE’S grand plan to bring iMessage-style texts to Android has a new name, but it’s still lacking one crucial feature.
The big G has been tinkering with the rebranded “Chat” service – which bundles regular texts with messages sent over Wi-Fi, mobile data, and potentially through other apps – for a few years now.
But despite the added scrutiny over data protection in the wake of the Facebook privacy scandal, Google somehow thought it OK to skimp on encryption.
Whereas iMessages shared between iOS users are end-to-end encrypted (meaning the contents of your chats are scrambled to block out outsiders, including Apple), Google’s Chat service will be stored in a readable format on your mobile network’s servers.
That means governments could request and access your data.
What is end-to-end encryption?
It's available by default on WhatsApp, but how does the privacy feature work?
- Encryption stops unauthorised access to your data, from emails to WhatsApp chats, by locking down communication between the parties involved.
- This is done by “scrambling” the messages sent from one person to another into a code that looks like gibberish to anyone else.
- Only you and the recipient can decrypt the jumbled-up content into a readable condition, which is done using unique “keys” granted to the users involved.
- WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram all enable end-to-end encryption by deafult
- While Facebook Messenger gives you the option to manually turn it on for individual conversations.
So if you’re even partially concerned about privacy, you’re better off sticking with WhatsApp on Android.
For the uninitiated, Google Chat is underpinned by RCS (Rich Communication Services): a messaging standard that will allow for free chats between Android users on different mobile networks.
The tech is flexible enough to work with a range of apps, which Google is hoping the 50-plus partners it’s snapped up will build.
They range from phone manufacturers like Samsung, LG and HTC to global operators such as Vodafone and T-Mobile among others, according to .
Microsoft is also onboard with RCS, meaning it could make an appearance on Windows 10 as well.
The way it works is straightforward: You send a text through the Messages app on your Android phone and a user on a compatible network will receive it as a Chat free of charge over Wi-Fi.
It’ll eat in to your data allowance if sent over 4G, and will be sent as a regular SMS to those who don’t have Chat enabled (including iPhone users).
Google’s Anil Sabarwhal, who’s been chosen to lead the project, claims the new service will be available in the US by the end of the year, and more widely thereafter.
Meanwhile the company will continue to cram more features into the Android messaging app, and is even planning a Chat service for the web.
The overhauled app is expected to draw in new Android users, but Google will have a hard time swaying those already signed up to the likes of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
The company has also put development of its Allo messaging app on the backburner, which has been struggling to compete with its bigger rivals since launching in September 2016.
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