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RCS text messages

A text message is the simplest RCS message type: text only. Use it for quick updates, reminders and confirmations.

At a glance

Item

Value

Basic Message

Up to 160 UTF-8 characters

Longer text

Billed as a Single Message

Suggestion buttons

Up to 11, label max 25 characters

Link preview

A text-only Basic Message with a URL may show a link preview

The 160 limit counts bytes. Standard characters use 1 byte; emoji and special characters use 2 to 4 bytes or more. 80 standard characters plus 20 emoji can exceed 160. See RCS billing and pricing.

SMS fallback

If the recipient cannot receive RCS, they get an SMS with your fallback text instead if that’s configured.

API example

JSON
{
  "messages": {
    "msg": [{
      "from": "RCS Sender Name",
      "allowedChannels": ["RCS"],
      "to": [{ "number": "0031612345678" }],
      "body": { "type": "auto", "content": "Fallback text for SMS" },
      "richContent": {
        "conversation": [{ "text": "Your RCS text message" }]
      }
    }]
  }
}

body.content holds the fallback text. richContent.conversation[].text is the RCS message itself.