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Comma Compliance Docs

Setting Up RCS Archiving (Android)

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RCS - Rich Communication Services - is the SMS successor on Android, used by carriers like T-Mobile and through Google Messages. RCS adds read receipts, typing indicators, group chats, and rich attachments. Most compliance archive vendors do not support RCS. Comma does.

How RCS capture works

Section titled “How RCS capture works”

Comma captures RCS through a managed Android device running Comma’s RCS archival app:

  • The device receives every SMS and RCS message (1:1 and group)
  • The app forwards messages, attachments, sender, timestamps, and read receipts to Comma via an authenticated webhook
  • Capture works on Google Messages and the major carrier RCS implementations
  • No modifications to the carrier or the user’s iPhone are involved
  • The device stays online; messages flow into the archive in near-real time

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • A managed Android device for each user being archived (Moto, Samsung, or any device running a supported Google Messages version)
  • The user’s SIM (physical or eSIM) on the device, with RCS chat features enabled in Google Messages settings
  • Comma team admin access
  • About 15 minutes per device

Setup steps

Section titled “Setup steps”

Comma side

Section titled “Comma side”
  1. Sign in to the Comma Compliance dashboard
  2. Open Integrations in the top navigation
  3. Find the RCS (Android) card and click Connect
  4. Comma generates a per-device enrollment QR code

Device side

Section titled “Device side”
  1. On the managed Android device, install the Comma RCS Archival app (download link provided in the enrollment screen)
  2. Open the app and scan the enrollment QR code
  3. Grant the required permissions (SMS/MMS read, default messaging handler)
  4. The app validates the link with a test message and reports back to Comma
  5. Capture begins immediately

Verifying capture

Section titled “Verifying capture”
  • The integration card shows the connected device with a “last seen” heartbeat
  • A test RCS message to the device appears in Messages > RCS within a few minutes

Backfill

Section titled “Backfill”

The app captures RCS messages already on the device by reading the carrier message log (Comma respects a configurable backfill_days window). Set the backfill horizon during setup if you want historical messages indexed.

Multi-device per user

Section titled “Multi-device per user”

A user can have more than one enrolled device (work phone + personal-with-MDM-managed-archival, for example). All devices feed into the same user’s archive without duplication.

What’s next

Section titled “What’s next”