Google looks to tackle longstanding RCS spam in India — but not alone

In response to ongoing spam issues affecting its Rich Communication Services (RCS) in India, Google is taking significant steps to enhance user protections. This Sunday, Bharti Airtel, India's second-largest telecom provider with over 463 million subscribers, announced a partnership with Google to integrate its network-level spam filtering directly into the RCS framework in the country. This collaboration aims to bolster defenses against unwanted messages and fraudulent activities on the platform. India presents a unique challenge due to its extensive mobile user base, rapid digital payment adoption, and aggressive marketing tactics from businesses, all contributing to a rise in spam complaints. Last year, the volume of unsolicited ads on Google’s RCS, primarily accessed through the Google Messages app, led to the company temporarily halting business promotions in India. Despite these measures, users still report ongoing issues with spam, indicating that the problem persists. Airtel had previously hesitated to deepen its collaboration with Google due to concerns over routing traffic through its own spam-filtering systems. An Airtel spokesperson noted, "We had not onboarded Google because we first wanted RCS messages to be routed through the Airtel spam filter." The new partnership will combine Airtel’s network intelligence with Google’s RCS platform, allowing for real-time checks on business messages, including sender verification, spam detection, and respect for users' do-not-disturb settings. Airtel touted this initiative as a "global first" in integrating a telecom operator's spam filtering with an over-the-top messaging service, although specific comparative metrics were not disclosed. Sameer Samat, Google's president of the Android ecosystem, emphasized the company’s commitment to creating a consistent and secure messaging experience for RCS users worldwide, hinting at possible future expansions of this model beyond India. With more than a billion internet and over 700 million smartphone users, India is a crucial market for Google’s messaging strategy. The competition is fierce, with over 853 million WhatsApp users in the country, according to World Population Review. Prabhu Ram, vice president at CyberMedia Research, highlighted that this deeper integration reflects an initiative to address the vulnerabilities in rich messaging systems that have historically been plagued by spam and fraud. He stated, "The effectiveness of this partnership should be measured by metrics such as a decrease in spam volume and user complaints, along with increased interactions with legitimate messages." Airtel has intensified its anti-spam initiatives recently, reporting that its AI-driven systems have blocked over 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam messages, resulting in a nearly 69% decline in fraud-related financial losses within its network. In a broader context, Google has positioned RCS as the future of messaging, noting that as of May 2025, the standard was processing over a billion messages daily in the U.S. The company has not disclosed plans for similar carrier integrations in other regions or predictions regarding the potential reduction in spam and fraud.