If you haven’t heard yet, Samsung has officially confirmed that it is closing your Samsung Messages app at the end of this year. The company has already stopped preinstalling it on newer Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S26 series, and now says it will be discontinued completely in July 2026.
Samsung notes that you’ll still be able to send messages using the app until then, except for emergency services or contacts. Once discontinued, the app will no longer be available to download from the Galaxy Store.
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The most natural successor to Samsung Messages, especially if you want to continue using RCS, is Google Messages. is he Official alternative that Samsung recommendsand is currently the only widely available messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS.
Google Messages is already the default messaging app on most Android phones, and Google has been constantly adding new features over the past year to make it more capable and unified across devices. And with RCS support in Google Messages, you get features like reliable cross-texting with iPhones, typing indicators, high-quality media sharing, message reactions, and built-in spam protection.
Of course, it is not a perfect replacement for Samsung Messages. You’ll miss things like deeper chat customization (although Google appears to be working to integrate this), better message categorization, and a more flexible user interface.
And if you prefer a simpler experience, Google Messages’ Gemini Integrations may not be for everyone. But if RCS is important to you, this is pretty much your only option right now.
If you’re willing to move away from RCS completely, the messaging app that almost everyone uses is WhatsApp. It has wide adoption globally, works on all platforms and offers more features than Samsung Messages and Google Messages. You get built-in voice and video calling, group chats, communities, message reactions, and all the features you typically find in SMS-based texting apps.
That said, it’s not perfect. While WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption by default, there have been recent concerns around privacy, with reports suggesting that Meta employees could bypass E2EE to read private messages without a decryption step, although the company has denied these claims.
Still, if your priority is to reach the greatest number of people with the least effort, this is the easiest change you can make.
If WhatsApp is not for you, another alternative that may interest you, although it may sound a little strange at first, is Instagram DMs. Many people already use Instagram as their main messaging platform (including me). One of the biggest advantages is that you don’t need a phone number, since everything works through usernames.
Instagram direct messages are already a great place for casual conversations, quick replies, and sharing memes or posts. You also get cross-platform messaging in some regions with Facebook Messenger integration, along with features like chat themes, disappear mode, and reactions.
Of course, it’s not designed to replace SMS or a dedicated messaging app. But depending on your use, you may find that you already depend on it more than you think. That said, if privacy is a priority, Instagram might not be ideal, especially with business. move away from end-to-end encryption for direct messages starting May 8, 2026.
If you are an advanced user and want a flexible and feature-rich experience, Telegram is probably the best alternative. Compared to most messaging apps, it’s easily one of the most feature-rich options out there.
You get things like massive group chats (up to 200,000 members), channels, bots for automation, and support for large file sharing (up to 4GB). One of the biggest advantages is its cloud-based syncing, which makes switching devices easy, unlike SMS or even WhatsApp, where you have to move your data manually.
That said, there is a trade-off. Regular chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default and you will need to use Secret Chats for that. For some users, that could be a deal breaker.
If your main concern is privacy, Signal is the app you should consider. It offers end-to-end encryption by default on everything, including messages, calls, and media, and collects minimal user data compared to most other messaging platforms.
The downside is that it is not as widely used and the feature set is more minimal compared to apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. But if you’re okay with convincing some close contacts to switch, Signal is probably the safest option on this list.
All that said, there is no true one-to-one replacement for Samsung Messages. There are some customizable SMS apps like Text and QUIK SMS (open source)but they are not compatible with RCS. So if RCS matters to you, you’ll have to switch to Google Messages. Otherwise, your options are more or less as listed above.
