Get started with branded RCS messaging

• RCS messaging is not available in all countries. See Regional Availability.
• Programmatic access for creating RCS Senders and onboarding at scale is not available.

Before you set up RCS, you will need to:

• Sign up for a Twilio account and upgrade to a paid account.
  • Learn how to upgrade to a paid Twilio account.
• Set up Messaging Services with a phone number for SMS or MMS.
  • Not all phone numbers can receive RCS messages. Messaging Services allow messages to be sent using SMS or MMS when RCS messages fail or cannot be used.

Follow these steps to set up and configure RCS messaging with Twilio.

Allow four to six weeks (or longer if you plan to launch in multiple regions) to complete the setup process.

1. Go to the RCS Senders page in the Twilio Console and click Create RCS Sender.
2. Accept the terms and conditions, provide a display name, and click Continue.
   (information)

   Creating multiple Senders for the same brand?

   When creating multiple RCS Senders for the same brand (for example, "Owl Homes"), use unique display names for each Sender so users can tell them apart in their Messaging app. (for example, "Owl Homes Support" and "Owl Homes Promotion"). Carriers typically do not approve RCS Senders with the same display name and logo.

3. On the Public details page, provide the following information. Carriers in some countries have Special Considerations regarding a Sender's public display.

4. Click Next to save the RCS Sender. Test how the RCS Sender is displayed on your device.
   1. Click Add device to test this sender and enter your phone number.
   2. You will receive an RCS message from the "RBM Tester Management" Sender. Tap Make me a tester to accept the invite.
   3. Once the invite is accepted, send a test RCS message to see how the RCS Sender is shown to users. To receive inbound messages, use the Configure tab to set your Sender's webhooks.
5. Click Done to finish creating the RCS Sender.
   • To continue to edit and refine the RCS Sender, click View Sender. You can continue to explore RCS by sending RCS messages to phone numbers added as test devices.
   • Before you may message phone numbers not added to your Sender as a test device, carriers must approve the RCS Sender. If you have already tested RCS and are ready to submit it for approval to use in production, go to the Carrier Approval tab and submit the required compliance information.

6. Go to the RCS Sender's Carrier Approval tab and click Continue setup.

7. After submitting the compliance information, you won't be able to edit your Sender's public display details. Click I understand to continue.

8. Complete the compliance form.

   Provide compliance information about your business and messaging use case(s):

   1. Select the countries where you want to launch the RCS Sender.
   2. Campaign Review: Provide a video showing sample campaign messages, including a functional opt-out flow. To avoid future re-approvals, include both promotional and transactional sample content, even if you plan to start with only one.
   3. User interaction: Describe how users interact with the RCS Sender, including opt-in processes and message triggers.
   4. Authorized representative: Provide contact information for someone who can represent the RCS Sender's brand.

9. Review the warning and click Submit to send the RCS Sender to Twilio and carriers for approval.

   (warning)

   Public display details locked after submission

   Once you submit the RCS Sender for carrier approval, you can no longer edit your Sender's public details in the Twilio Console. Any changes after submission require manual updates through Twilio Support and may require downtime.

10. Provide additional carrier compliance information (if applicable):

• Depending on carrier requirements within your selected countries, Twilio might request additional compliance information. You may also receive verification emails from a third party (Aegis or Google for example) with instructions to verify you have authorization to operate an RCS Sender for the brand submitted.

11. Monitor approval status:

The RCS Sender shows as Under Review during the approval process. Approval timelines vary by carrier. At any point, you can reply to the initial support ticket created when you submitted your Sender if you need an update. You can start using the RCS Sender in production when one carrier is live/approved in a given country.

12. Add the RCS Sender to a Messaging Service:

Once at least one carrier has approved, configure the RCS Sender for production use:

1. Go to the Messaging Services page in the Twilio Console.
2. Either:
   • Go to the RCS Sender's Configuration tab and assign it to a Messaging Service, or
   • Go to your Messaging Service's Sender Pool tab and add the RCS Sender

You can associate only one RCS Sender with a Messaging Service.

13. Set up Advance Opt-Out handling for the RCS Sender:
    1. Go to the Messaging Services page in the Twilio Console.
    2. Click your Messaging Service and select Opt-Out Management from the sidebar.
    3. Configure opt-out keywords and responses in the local language of your target regions.
    4. Click Enable Advanced Opt-Out.

To learn more about Advanced Opt-Out, see Customizing Users' Opt-in and Opt-out Experience with Advanced Opt-Out.

To learn how to send and receive branded RCS messages, see Send and receive branded RCS messages.

To stop using RCS, you can either send messages through a different Messaging Service or remove the RCS Sender from the Messaging Service.

To remove the RCS Sender from the Messaging Service:

1. Navigate to the Messaging Services page in the Twilio Console.
2. Select the Messaging Service associated with the RCS Sender, then click Sender Pool in the sidebar.
3. Click Remove to delete the RCS Sender from the Messaging Service.

Alternatively, you can set the Messaging Service to None on the RCS Sender's Configuration tab.