NEW DELHI — Bharti Airtel and Google on Sunday announced a partnership aimed at reducing spam and fraud on Rich Communications Services (RCS) messaging in India, combining telecom network intelligence with advanced spam detection technology.
The collaboration integrates Airtel’s network-level intelligence with Google’s RCS platform and built-in spam protection to offer what the companies described as a safer and more interactive messaging experience for millions of users.
Under the partnership, users will be able to access RCS features such as high-quality photo and video sharing, message reactions and enhanced engagement tools through Google Messages, which comes pre-installed on most Android smartphones. At the same time, the service is designed to strengthen safeguards against spam and fraudulent messages.
The enhanced platform will introduce real-time verification of business senders using telecom-backed identity validation systems. It will also honor users’ Do Not Disturb (DND) preferences, block spam business messages and filter malicious links through multi-layered threat detection systems.
In addition, the service will limit messages from senders flagged by Airtel’s network intelligence and Google’s AI-driven spam filters.
The companies said the partnership aims to extend telecom-grade security standards to modern messaging platforms by embedding carrier-level protections directly into RCS services.
By combining Airtel’s intelligence systems with Google’s spam detection technologies, the firms plan to create a more secure, carrier-supported messaging ecosystem.
Gopal Vittal, executive vice chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company has consistently relied on data and intelligent networks to combat spam and protect customers. He described the collaboration with Google as a pioneering move to make rich messaging safer and urged other over-the-top communication platforms to work together to safeguard users from spam and financial fraud.
Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem at Google, said the partnership would help ensure that mobile users in India can communicate with greater confidence. He added that Google will continue collaborating with carriers worldwide to standardize messaging security and strengthen trust in the RCS experience. (Source: IANS)
