![How to send RCS messages from a computer without Google account in 2026 [Tutorial]](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/7d7176c5-984e-4c98-8882-028db3aebbd3.png){kind=link}
As you may know, Google removed the option to sign in Google Messages with QR Pairing. Now, they force you to do it ONLY with a Google account. People who don’t have and don’t want to create one, or people that just prefer QR pairing can still do it. But with a workaround:
- Download (or use) a Google Messages version that still allows QR pairing (like one from January 2026). It can be downloaded from Uptodown store. I tried installing it from an apk directly but it failed.
- Open the link: https://messages.google.com/web/authentication
- Sign in following the instructions on the screen.
Do it as soon as possible because Google might remove this option soon.
convenience always wins out because it takes A SHIT TON of effort to understand what you’re giving up to get that convenience when you lack the background understanding that most of us here have.
it’s definitely a failure on their part; but we’ve reached a point at which there’s SO MANY who have failed that it’s become everyone’s problem.
I didn’t always have the understanding of what I was giving up, but the signs were there so I chose to dig deeper. Fast forward 10 years, my mental health is the envy of many people because I chose to not care if people removed me from their lives for refusing to use the same services they do.
Having said that, we all have a choice to make. So, I disagree with that comment that it’s now everyone’s problem '. It certainly isn’t my problem. There are those that have chosen to add what I use to their arsenal of services, others that flat out switched to them, and then there are those that, likee, refused to use other services (like Signal and SimpleX) and I’m very happy with the decisions each of them made.
People don’t care about their own health or privacy, let alone others. Look how many people don’t practice any sport, smoke, drink alcohol or eat unhealthy foods. Or regarding privacy, how many people pay by card, although they know all their transactions are saved and seen by banks and potentially goverment. You made a very strong decision by putting your privacy first, over relationships. Maybe if more people would be like you, privacy-respecting messengers would grow up more.
expand the scope and you’ll come to understand why it’s also your problem.
for example: what happens if one of those people who have added to their arsenal to communicate with you puts the password into a compromised password manager? or what if their phone is already compromised somehow and they don’t know it?