Airtel, Google team up to crack down on spam in RCS messaging across India | All you need to know

Bharti Airtel and Google on Sunday announced a collaboration to offer a safer and more engaging messaging experience for millions of users in India. The partnership combines Airtel’s network intelligence with Google’s Rich Communications Services (RCS) platform and built-in spam protection to reduce mobile spam and digital fraud.

Under the collaboration, users will be able to access RCS messaging with features such as high-quality photo and video sharing, interactive message reactions and improved engagement tools, IANS reported.

At the same time, the service will offer stronger protection against spam and fraudulent messages. The enhanced RCS messaging service will allow users to view messages directly in Google Messages, which is available on most Android smartphones.

The platform will introduce real-time checks to verify business senders through telecom-backed identity validation, respect users’ Do Not Disturb (DND) preferences, block spam business messages and filter malicious links using multi-layered threat detection systems, according to IANS.

It will also limit messages from senders flagged by Airtel and Google’s AI-based spam filters. The new partnership aims to address this gap by extending telecom-grade security standards to modern messaging services.

By integrating Airtel’s intelligence systems into Google’s RCS platform along with Google’s spam detection technology, the companies plan to create a more secure, carrier-backed messaging environment, as per IANS.

Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company remains focused on customer protection and has consistently used data and intelligent networks to fight spam. He described the partnership with Google as a pioneering step to make rich messaging safer and called on other over-the-top communication platforms to work together to protect customers from spam and financial fraud.

Sameer Samat, President of the Android Ecosystem at Google, said the collaboration will help ensure that mobile users in India can communicate with greater confidence. He added that Google will continue working with carriers globally to standardise messaging security and build a trusted RCS experience.

Messages sent via the RCS messaging service platform are delivered directly to Google Messages, which is available on most Android devices.

"Airtel and Google’s collaboration represents a world-first example of how telecom service providers (TSPs) and global technology platforms can work together to apply analogous safety, verification, and accountability measures to OTT messaging — measures that have long existed in telecom networks," Airtel said in a statement. (With Agency Inputs)