Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
- Google announced an RCS upgrade for 911 texting last year, and the rollout is expected in winter across the US.
- In line with this rollout announcement, we’ve spotted new code within Google Messages that points towards enabling RCS texting for emergency services.
- RCS emergency texting on Android will enable features like location sharing, higher-quality media sharing, and more.
Calling 911 may not be the best solution during certain emergencies, even though it would be the easiest way to get help. In certain situations, you may need to contact emergency services more discreetly, and that’s where texting 911 comes in handy. But as with all things SMS, the basic SMS service could be fairly limiting in what you can convey in your messages, and that’s where RCS comes in.
911 texting is overdue for an RCS upgrade on Android. Google announced last year that it had partnered with RapidSOS to upgrade 911 call centers across the US to support RCS-based text-to-911. The upgrade to RCS will allow users to confirm message delivery, send high-resolution images and videos, share precise locations, and more.