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Company

SMS

Filtered to Controversies ×
133 articles decelerating

Google’s 2025 decision to replace Gmail SMS authentication with QR codes crystallized coverage of SMS as both a durable channel and a growing security liability.

Who they are

SMS is the legacy mobile text-messaging protocol appearing in coverage as a baseline channel for consumer communications, authentication and business outreach. Stories position it alongside newer messaging systems including RCS, iMessage and WhatsApp, as well as carrier services and application-to-person messaging tools. მიუხედავად its age, it remains the fallback transport behind products ranging from T-Mobile’s satellite connectivity to AI-driven texting services.

The recent arc

The coverage’s earlier high point centered on messaging-platform replacement efforts: Google’s RCS-based Chat was framed as a way to supplant SMS, while Apple’s iOS 18 RCS support moved Android-to-iPhone exchanges away from SMS as the default protocol. T-Mobile and SpaceX also made SMS a first-use case for Starlink connectivity in dead zones, showing that the protocol retained value where basic reach mattered more than rich features.

More recently, the emphasis has shifted decisively toward abuse, fraud and security. Google said in February 2025 that Gmail would use QR codes rather than SMS authentication to reduce widespread SMS abuse; reporting also tracked toll-payment smishing, SMS-stealer campaigns targeting Android devices, and scammers using base-station-impersonating “SMS blasters” as carriers add protections. At the same time, SMS remains commercially adaptable: Bird serves enterprises across SMS and WhatsApp, EdSights uses texting and AI to identify at-risk students, and Poke is building task automation through text messages.

The tension

Coverage repeatedly pits SMS’s universal reach and low-friction accessibility against its weaker security and feature set. Google has criticized SMS/MMS over media quality and the absence of end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp markets encryption as an alternative, and Apple and Google’s RCS efforts seek a richer cross-platform standard; meanwhile, Twitter’s restriction of SMS-based two-factor authentication and Google’s move away from it underscore the protocol’s vulnerability to abuse and interception.

Why it matters

If this trajectory holds, SMS is likely to become less central as a trusted identity and primary rich-messaging layer while remaining important for reach, alerts, business engagement and emergency-style connectivity. RCS adoption across Apple and Android could reduce its role in everyday device-to-device messaging, but satellite deployments and text-based AI services show why replacing SMS outright is unlikely; the key uncertainty is whether anti-fraud controls can preserve confidence in the channel’s remaining high-value uses.

SMS has appeared in 133 articles since 2015-02. Coverage peaked in 2022Q3 with 10 articles. Frequently mentioned alongside Android, Google, Twitter, RCS.

Articles
133
mentions
Velocity
-50.0%
growth rate
Acceleration
-0.167
velocity change
Sources
42
publications

Coverage Timeline

2025-09-21
Wired 2 related

As carriers deploy protections against fraudulent texts, scammers are using “SMS blasters” that impersonate base stations to send fake messages to nearby phones

Scammers are now using “SMS blasters” to send out up to 100,000 texts per hour to phones that are tricked into thinking the devices are cell towers.

2025-01-20
Krebs on Security 3 related

Researchers say the recent surge in SMS phishing spam, warning US recipients about unpaid tolls, coincides with new features in a popular Chinese phishing kit

Good morning.  We have brought our world to an awe-inspiring threshold of the future. Stu Sjouwerman / KnowBe4 Security Awareness … : Phishing Campaign Attempts to Bypass iOS Protections

2024-07-31
BleepingComputer 7 related

Zimperium: a massive SMS stealer campaign has targeted Android devices worldwide using Telegram bots to infect devices in 113 countries since February 2022

A malicious campaign targeting Android devices worldwide utilizes thousands of Telegram bots to infect devices with SMS-stealing malware …

2024-07-14
TechCrunch 61 related

AT&T says it will begin notifying consumers about a data breach where cybercriminals stole phone records of “nearly all” of its cellular and landline customers

Item 1.05 Material Cybersecurity Incidents.  On April 19, 2024, AT&T Inc. … AT&T : Unlawful access of customer data AT&T : AT&T Addresses Illegal Download of Customer Data Lily Hay Newman / Wired : Th...

2024-07-13
TechCrunch 91 related

AT&T says it will begin notifying consumers about a data breach where cybercriminals stole phone records of “nearly all” of its cellular and landline customers

Item 1.05 Material Cybersecurity Incidents.  On April 19, 2024, AT&T Inc. … AT&T : AT&T Addresses Illegal Download of Customer Data CNN : Nearly all AT&T cell customers' call and text records exposed ...

2023-12-30
Daring Fireball 3 related

Apple blocking Beeper Mini, not a service unto itself but an unauthorized client for a proprietary platform that costs a lot to run, is not anticompetitive

what a shame!  I swear, these companies — Meta, Spotify, and Epic come to mind — are the whiniest bastards ever.  In a hypothetical situation where Meta made its own phone and Apple wanted to create a...

2023-12-29
Daring Fireball

Apple blocking Beeper Mini, not a service unto itself but an unauthorized client for a proprietary platform that costs a lot to run, is not anticompetitive

There's a lot to catch up on since last I wrote about Beeper.  Long story short, they've been playing — and no surprise, losing — the cat-and-mouse game with Apple. Threads: @eshumarneedi , @lscottspe...

2022-12-04
Rest of World

A look at the use of WhatsApp in Indian state Gujarat's elections, as political parties deploy thousands of “digital warriors” to spam the “people's feed”

Samriddhi Sakunia / Rest of World : Tweets: @restofworld , @samriddhi0809 , @samriddhi0809 , @samriddhi0809 , @restofworld , @nationalfedera4 , @hrishirajanand_ , @clifroz , @ankitlal , @samriddhi080...

2022-12-03
Rest of World

Elections in India's Gujarat have become a WhatsApp spam war, as the main political parties push content across thousands of groups to influence voters

10,000 volunteers, 50,000 WhatsApp groups, and the intense fight to “control people's feed” in Gujarat.  —  • AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA Tweets: @restofworld , @samriddhi0809 , @samriddhi0809 , @samrid...

2022-08-17
TechCrunch 27 related

Signal says attackers accessed the phone numbers and SMS verification codes for around 1,900 users as part of the recent Twilio breach

just reasons I don't understand. Can somebody explain those reasons to me? https://twitter.com/... Joseph Menn / @josephmenn : Every time there is a high-end attack on a critical end-to-end encrypted ...

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2024Q2enterprise +50pts; developer +50pts
2025Q1enterprise -17pts; developer +17pts; consumer -67pts
2025Q3enterprise -33pts; safety +50pts; developer -67pts

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