Send and receive text messages (SMS & MMS) - Android (2024)

FAQs

What does texting with SMS MMS mean on Android? ›

MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It was built using the same technology as SMS to allow SMS users to send multimedia content. It's most popularly used to send pictures, but can also be used to send audio, phone contacts, and video files.

A text message of up to 160 characters without an attached file is known as an SMS, while a text that includes a file—like a picture, video, emoji, or a website link—becomes an MMS.

It depends on the type of message you want to send. SMS is best for short messages such as reminders, notifications, and promotional offers. MMS is better for longer or more complex messages like images, videos, audio clips, or links to external websites.

Open a chat with the user and click on the three dots in the upper right corner and then Details / Only send SMS and MMS messages.

The choice between the two depends largely on your campaign objectives and the type of message you want to send. SMS is great for sending short, text-only messages and tends to be cheaper, while MMS allows for the inclusion of multimedia content such as images, GIFs, and videos.

MMS at a glance. Almost all devices support both SMS and MMS, so you usually don't need to stick to one over the other. Realistically, a good text marketing strategy should include a combination of the two for variety.

What's the Difference Between SMS and Text Messages? The first and biggest thing to know about the difference between SMS and text messages is that there is no difference. SMS, or Short Message Service, is a form of text message that's sent from one device to another.

What are RCS chats? Rich Communication Services (RCS) chats provide an upgraded, rich messaging experience. RCS chats: Show you when someone is typing. Offer read receipts, which show when someone has read or received your message.

Practically everyone should be aware at this point that most text messages come as MMS rather than SMS now. If auto MMS download is disabled, then when someone sends you an MMS text, you will see a bubble asking you to click to download multimedia before you see any content of that text.

Are MMS messages private? ›

Any data or information shared via SMS or MMS is not secure. Private texts, photos, and metadata are more than likely stored in your cellular provider's system. Cellular providers have access to this information, and some organizations have been known to sell this data in the past.

If you disable MMS, you cannot send or receive pictures except by iMessage.

MMS is a more suitable option when you need to send messages longer than 160 characters. With a generous 1,600-character limit, it can be more cost-effective and user-friendly to send a single MMS message instead of multiple SMS messages. MMS is also necessary when sending images, videos, or other multimedia content.

Why do my SMS messages sometimes change to MMS even when I'm not sending images? This likely only happens when you send a particularly long group text message. The default Messaging application in the Android OS supports sending group SMS messages to a maximum of ten contacts.

MMS is short for Multimedia Messaging Service. Unlike SMS, MMS messages can include content like photos, videos, audio, and GIFs. MMS also enables you to send text – up to 1,600 characters per message. This point is true for all smartphone devices, including Android, iPhone, and others.

Google Messages Alternative: Open up the Messages app and tap the ⁝, followed by Settings and then Chat Features. Then, switch the toggle on the “Automatically resend as text (SMS/MMS)” option off.

Green bubble texts are SMS messages (used when the recipient doesn't have an iPhone), while gray or blue bubble texts are sent via iMessage. For Android users, on the other hand, SMS messages are the default, unless you don't have access to a cell signal.

Android phones exclusively use SMS and MMS texting formats. These texting and messaging services come in almost all phone plans and don't count against your data plans. The whole point of SMS and MMS is to provide you with an easy way to communicate.