Google Messages 'RCS' feature compressing images to 1MB and below? Try these easy workarounds

Google’s push for Rich Communication Services (RCS) adoption in its Messages app, including on the iPhone, has aimed to enhance user experiences, particularly in exchanging high-quality photos and videos. However, recent reports suggest that some Google Messages users, including those on Google Pixel devices, are encountering compression issues with any photo exceeding 1MB when sent from the Gallery with RCS enabled. This significantly downgrades their quality and ultimately contradicts the very purpose of RCS.

The problem arises when users attempt to send images larger than 1MB from the Gallery using the Google Messages RCS feature. Instead of maintaining the original quality, the feature compresses these images down to 1MB and below, resulting in a reduction in resolution and affecting the overall quality of the received photos. This unexpected compression doesn’t sit well with some RCS users since the feature was designed to facilitate the seamless exchange of high-quality media.

Complaints about this issue have been circulating for over a year and fresh reports are still coming in to date, with users expressing disappointment over the compromise in image quality when utilizing the RCS feature in Google Messages. They argue that such compression undermines the user experience and contradicts the fundamental purpose of RCS, leaving them frustrated with a feature meant to solve the very same issue with traditional SMS/MMS.

Fortunately, there are workarounds available for users facing this predicament. One approach is to send photos as files instead of directly from the Gallery. RCS supports file attachments of up to 105MB in size, allowing users to maintain the original size and quality of their images. To do this, hit the plus (+) icon in the text editor and select “Files” from the options. From here, you should be able to attach the photo you want and send it without being compressed by the RCS feature in Google Messages.

Alternatively, users can utilize the in-app camera to capture the desired photo directly within the Google Messages app to avoid compression issues with the RCS feature, ensuring that the file size and quality remain unaffected during the sharing process. You can access the in-app camera in Google Messages by tapping on the camera icon next to the plus icon in the text editor.

While Google hasn’t officially addressed the concern, these workarounds should help address this issue temporarily. However, these workarounds aren’t ideal solutions. Having to make a few more clicks to accomplish what could be done in fewer steps isn’t the intended seamlessness of RCS. Users have expressed their hope for a permanent fix, and there’s no doubt that Google needs to acknowledge this issue and provide a proper solution. After all, we shouldn’t have to jump through hoops just to share high-quality photos.

With RCS adoption crucial for Google’s messaging ambitions, addressing this long-standing compression issue in the Messages app remains vital. Until then, users will have to rely on workarounds for truly high-quality photo sharing. Along with this, Google is also working to add support for images combined with captions in RCS chats, option to change RCS chat colors for both parties, and set custom bubble colors, among many other improvements.