Overview
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the next generation of mobile messaging — a significant upgrade over traditional SMS and MMS. With RCS, you can send visually engaging messages that include high-resolution images, videos, interactive buttons, suggested replies, and multi-card carousels, all delivered natively to your recipients' default messaging app — no additional app required.
Tatango's RCS composer lets you build and send three distinct message formats, each designed for different campaign goals. Because not all subscribers have RCS-capable devices or carriers, Tatango automatically filters your recipient list to include only RCS-eligible contacts and requires an SMS fallback message to ensure everyone on your list receives a meaningful message.
Message Formats
Tatango supports three RCS message formats. Choose the one that best fits your campaign content and engagement goals.
Text-Only
A text-based RCS message, similar to SMS but with added interactivity. Use this format when your message doesn't require visuals but you still want to offer recipients quick actions.
Body text: Supports formatting (bold, italic), emojis, merge tags
Buttons: Up to 1 action button (Open URL, Dial Phone, Show Location, Request Location, or Create Calendar Event)
Suggested replies: Up to 11 text-only quick-reply options
SMS fallback: Required
Rich Card
A single-card message that combines media, text, and buttons into one visually compelling unit. Rich Cards are ideal for campaigns centered around a single offer, event, or call to action.
Media: One image or video displayed at the top of the card (vertical orientation)
Title: Supports formatting, emojis, merge tags
Body text: Supports formatting, emojis, merge tags
Buttons: Up to 4 action buttons
Suggested replies: Up to 11 text-only quick-reply options
SMS fallback: Required
Carousel
A swipeable, multi-card message that lets recipients browse 2–10 individual cards, each with its own media, text, and buttons. Carousels work well for showcasing multiple options — volunteer opportunities, giving levels, event highlights, and more.
Cards: 2–10 swipeable cards; each card is independently configured
Per card: One image or video (vertical orientation), title, body text, and up to 4 action buttons
Suggested replies: Up to 11 text-only quick-reply options shared globally across all cards
SMS fallback: Required
Preview: Displays a horizontal swipeable carousel with a card position indicator (e.g., "2 of 5") for both iPhone and Android previews
Action Buttons
All three message formats support the following button types, each with its own configuration:
Button Type | What It Does |
Open URL | Opens a link in the recipient's browser (supports PowerLinks) |
Dial Phone | Initiates a phone call to the specified number |
Show Location | Displays a location on a map using an address you provide |
Request Location | Prompts the recipient to share their current location |
Create Calendar Event | Adds an event to the recipient's calendar (includes start/end time, title, description, and timezone) |
SMS Fallback
Every RCS message format requires an SMS fallback. The fallback is delivered as a standard SMS to any subscriber whose device or carrier does not support RCS. When writing your fallback, include your core message, call-to-action, and any links that replace interactive buttons — since SMS recipients won't see your RCS content.
Supports merge tags and PowerLinks
Displays a character counter and SMS segment count
The composer shows how many recipients will receive the RCS version versus the SMS fallback
Media
RCS supports rich media attachments for Rich Card and Carousel messages. All media is displayed in vertical orientation by default.
Supported File Types
Type | Formats |
Images | JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG |
Videos | MP4 |
Video Thumbnails
When you upload a video, Tatango automatically generates a thumbnail for preview purposes. The thumbnail is displayed in the card preview and in your recipient's message thread before they play the video.
Media Library
Previously uploaded media is accessible through your Tatango Media Library.
Tips for Media
Keep image file sizes below 10 MB for the best delivery performance, even though larger files up to 100 MB are technically supported.
Use high-resolution images to take advantage of RCS's improved visual rendering compared to MMS.
Videos should be kept concise — shorter clips tend to drive higher engagement in mobile messaging contexts.
RCS Eligible Recipients
Not all subscribers can receive RCS messages. A recipient must meet the following criteria to be RCS-eligible:
RCS-capable device: The recipient's phone must support RCS messaging.
Android: RCS is widely supported on Android devices running Google Messages (or another RCS-enabled messaging app).
iPhone: RCS is available on iPhones running iOS 18 or later, with full support for RCS Business Messaging on iOS 18.1 and later.
RCS-enabled carrier: The recipient's mobile carrier must support RCS. In the US, major carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon support RCS for Android. Carrier support for RCS on iPhone continues to expand.
RCS enabled on their device: The recipient must have RCS messaging enabled in their device settings. On iPhone, this is found under Settings > Messages > RCS Messaging.
How Tatango Handles RCS Eligibility
Tatango receives RCS compatibility data for your subscriber list and uses it to automatically filter recipient counts throughout the message creation workflow. This means:
Segment and list counts shown in the RCS composer reflect only RCS-eligible subscribers — not your full list size.
Your RCS audience will appear smaller than your SMS/MMS audience. This is expected behavior, not an error. The difference represents subscribers whose devices or carriers do not currently support RCS.
Actual sends are restricted to RCS-eligible subscribers only. Sending only goes out to RCS capable phones, so SMS fallback will be caused by any deliverability issue, even though the phone IS RCS capable at the time we send
Counts update dynamically if you switch between the RCS and SMS/MMS channel selectors while composing.
A note is displayed in the composer: "List size may appear smaller than SMS or MMS because not all contacts support RCS."
As RCS adoption continues to grow — particularly following Apple's iOS 18 rollout — your eligible RCS audience is likely to increase over time.