Google Chat, free alternative of Whatsapp?

They have finally arrived for all users of Messages for Android (Google Chat Whatsapp for free?) , at least those of France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States, the “Chat features“. We are talking about the now famous RCS messages, evolution of old SMS.

Google announced the rollout global of his new chat, with which he aims to do competition with Telegram, WhatsApp and Apple's iMessage leveraging the RCS (Rich Communication System) protocol. Google's new chat is theoretically already available in Italy, but in practice, no Italian mobile operator is yet available. really supports messages RCSSo, here we still have to wait, while in other countries, Google has officially begun competing with the apps mentioned above. While we wait for our telephone carriers to adopt this new technology, let's see what it is, how to activate it, and, above all, why.

Google Chat: how to activate it

Google Chat

, in reality, does not exist: there is a chat feature within the Google Messages app, which is also used to send and receive traditional SMS. However, if the user is connected to a mobile operator that supports the RCS protocol, then you can take advantage of the "Chat Features” included in the app. To do this, however, you must update the Messages and Carrier Services apps to the latest version. Then you must set Messages as the default app for reading and sending SMS messages as well. At this point, you must check whether your carrier already supports RCS: just open the Messages app and go to Settings > Chat Features. If everything is ok, then the user can use the Messages app like WhatsApp or Telegram.

Google Chat: the advantages

The RCS protocol offers users the same features already tested on many instant messaging apps: free sending of messages, the ability to know if the other person has received and viewed the message, the ability to know if they are writing a reply, group chats, etc. etc. As regards free messages, however, a clarification is needed: exchanging messages with the "Chat features” from Google Messages it costs nothing if we are under Wi-Fi coverageOtherwise, if the message exchange takes place under mobile data coverage, then the operator may charge you.