When Google introduced “Chat” as the name for RCS messaging many years ago, it was a very strange choice. Not because the word “chat” doesn’t refer to people who talk, but because it’s the name of an internal service that won’t be accepted for years, and it’s also a generic term that people have already used when describing messaging. It also wasn’t the name of the app that people would use, just a term to refer to RCS. Everything was very confusing.

To get a full understanding of this initial deployment of Chat, you should read this explanation I put together in 2018. I still feel the same as when I used the word “Chat” for RCS.

In any case, the point of this background is that Google seems to refuse to call RCS “Chat” in its own Messages app. Over the past few days, they have begun making changes to Google Messages, which refers to the “Chat” section and its settings as “RCS Chats”, as first noticed. 9to5Google.

You can see in the screenshot below that “RCS Chats” has basically replaced “Chat” everywhere. This is the name of not only the section, but also all the sub-settings and even the “More” link. Google still hasn’t updated the official support documentation with the new name, but I think it will.

RCS Chats - Google Messages

What does all this mean for you? Doesn’t matter. It is the same Nothing ever since Google called it “Chat”. It always had to be called simply RCS because it was a server-side service that didn’t need official branding. Or at least Google could just call it Advanced Messaging or something that would explain what people are getting. Either way, the change will most likely not be presented to you, and that’s fine. You just get those improved RCS chats with the same friends as you, only without the confusing name.

RCS is now simply called RCS. Amazing. Also, Google should have made a clone of iMessage.