SMS

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.

Related: Google · Apple · RCS · WhatsApp · Twitter says only Blue subscribers will be able to use SMS-based 2FA a · Google unveils Chat, an RCS-based carrier messaging service to supplan