Poke, an AI agent that lets users automate tasks via text message, raised $10M, on top of a $15M seed in 2025, at a $300M post-money valuation
Is Poke an OpenClaw for the rest of us? That's the idea coming from a new startup offering an AI agent that you can access via iMessage, SMS, Telegram, and, in some markets, WhatsApp.
Apple says Messages will support RCS in iOS 18, replacing SMS as the default communication protocol between Android and iOS devices, but gives few details
Allison Johnson / The Verge :
Telegram rolls out its Peer-to-Peer Login Program, giving some Android users a Premium sub for volunteering their phone numbers to relay SMS OTPs to other users
Telegram is offering a new way to earn a premium subscription free of charge: all you have to do is volunteer your phone number …
Signal plans to phase out SMS and MMS support from its Android app; users have “several months to transition away from SMS” and export messages to another app
Signal says it will start to phase out SMS and MMS message support from its Android app to streamline the user experience and prioritize security and privacy.
Google launches Get The Message, a campaign to pressure Apple to support RCS over SMS/MMS, highlighting low-resolution photos and videos, no e2ee, and more
Google launches Get The Message, a campaign to pressure Apple to support RCS over SMS/MMS, highlighting low-resolution photos and videos, no e2ee, and more
For the past year, Google has been increasingly calling out Apple for not adopting RCS (Rich Communication Services) on the iPhone. Source: Android .
iOS 16 will fix the issue in SMS chats where reacting with Tapbacks sends separate spammy messages, and will instead show the Tapbacks above relevant messages
The hero changes to iMessage in iOS 16 are the addition of edit button and undo send features.
Will Cathcart says WhatsApp has no plans to support RCS, as Meta launches its first marketing push for WhatsApp in the US, touting its privacy compared to SMS
Whatever you send or receive, end-to-end encryption protects your messages from being this exposed. Doroteya Borisova / PhoneArena : WhatsApp CEO hints at iPad app release Juli Clover / MacRumors : Wh...
Will Cathcart says WhatsApp has no plans for RCS support, as Meta launches its first marketing push for WhatsApp in the US, touting its privacy compared to SMS
The Meta-owned messaging app wants to be as popular in the US as it is everywhere else — will a big marketing push work?
Verizon joins AT&T and T-Mobile in switching Android Messages default to RCS, raising questions about when or if Apple will swap its SMS default with RCS
Dieter Bohn / The Verge :