For some time now, the mobile tech industry—especially Google—has been pushing for the adoption of the RCS standard. This means that carriers that want to jump on the bandwagon have to say goodbye to their proprietary messaging apps. Such is the case with Verizon, which is completing the shutdown of its Message+ (Plus) app after some delays.
Message+ was for a long time the default messaging app for Verizon customers. However, to support a more open messaging service, Verizon is urging users to move to Google Messages. The latter offers support for advanced messaging features across multiple platforms. Plus, carriers that adopt it have the advantage of not spending money on maintaining a proprietary platform or app. Even Apple is adopting RCS support in iMessage after much insistence from Google.
Verizon is completing the Message+ shutdown it has been warning about for a long time
As part of the shutdown process, Verizon is removing all sections related to the Message+ (or Message Plus) app from its website. Some pages remain active, but just for alerting users about the app’s shutdown. “Verizon Messages (Message+) is no longer supported. For Android™ devices, Verizon recommends switching to Google Messages as the replacement app for messaging,” reads a site.
There are users, especially the less tech-savvy ones, who only rely on the phone’s native apps. Many of them have only used the Message+ app to send/receive SMS, MMS, and RCS. So, having to forcefully switch to a new app can leave them with a lot of questions. For example, there are people who don’t know if they will keep their conversations or lose everything.
Regarding this, Verizon states that “on the local device, text messages (SMS and MMS) will remain in local storage and will be accessible from within a replacement messaging application such as Google Messages.”
Verizon could be being a little “aggressive,” some say
Anyway, there are people who feel that Verizon is using an aggressive method to force users to switch messaging apps. For example, some people complain that Message+ suddenly blocks access to all chats until you make the switch. There’s a full-screen warning that prevents you from accessing them. At least the screen includes a “Switch now” button to start the changeover process quickly.
That said, Google has Verizon customers in mind and has shared a guide specially designed for them. The guide offers a rundown of the main features of Google Messages that you can use to replace Message+ and feel at home quickly.