How to forward RCS chats to email or to SMS
You can forward RCS chats to your email inbox — or, if you prefer, to a second phone as SMS — automatically and in real time using PhoneLeash on Android. Direct messages, group conversations, attachments, and RCS-delivered OTP codes are captured through Android's Notification Listener and delivered within seconds. No carrier integration, no API access, no tinkering. RCS forwarding is Android-only.
This guide walks through how RCS forwarding works in PhoneLeash, the one app requirement (Google Messages), what gets forwarded, how to choose between email and a second phone, and how to set everything up in about two minutes.
PhoneLeash is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Google LLC. Google Messages and RCS are trademarks of their respective owners.
What is RCS, and why forward it?
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the modern successor to SMS and MMS on Android. It enables typing indicators, delivery and read receipts, higher-resolution attachments, and named group chats. RCS is now the default messaging protocol on most Android phones, and Apple added RCS support in iOS 18, so RCS conversations are increasingly common between Android and iPhone users.
That shift matters because a lot of message types that used to arrive as SMS now arrive as RCS:
- OTP and verification codes. Many banks, retailers, and login services have switched their code delivery to RCS where available, falling back to SMS only when the recipient does not support RCS.
- Business messaging. Appointment reminders, delivery notifications, and customer support replies are moving to RCS for richer formatting and branded sender identity.
- Group chats. Family and friend group chats that used to be MMS are now usually RCS — and if you carry two phones or use a second device at a no-phone workplace, you want those forwarded too.
If your SMS forwarding tool stops at SMS, you are increasingly missing the important stuff.
How does it work?
PhoneLeash does not use Google's RCS APIs or modify Google Messages in any way. It reads RCS conversations through Android's built-in Notification Listener service — the same system mechanism that lets smartwatches and accessibility tools mirror notifications.
When Google Messages posts a notification for an incoming RCS conversation, PhoneLeash detects the notification, extracts the complete message and attachment content, and forwards it to your destination. The whole round-trip takes a few seconds.
What gets forwarded
- Direct RCS messages — sender's name or number and the message text.
- Group RCS messages — group name (or participant list) plus the individual sender, so you know who said what in which group.
- Attachments on incoming messages — photos, videos, and audio attachments are forwarded along with the message.
- Outgoing RCS messages you send — these are forwarded too, so your destination inbox shows a complete conversation thread.
- Replies from email or your second phone — work the same way as for SMS, and go out as SMS, not as RCS. There is no public API for third-party apps to send RCS on your behalf. Your reply lands in the original sender's RCS thread as a regular text from your phone number.
- RCS OTP codes — covered automatically and by the OTP-only plan. See the OTP forwarding guide for the broader context.
Where RCS, SMS, and WhatsApp differ
If you are weighing PhoneLeash against other forwarding options, this is the practical breakdown of what PhoneLeash captures across the three protocols people care about most:
| Capability | SMS / MMS | RCS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct messages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Group messages | Yes (MMS) | Yes | Yes |
| Incoming attachments | Yes (MMS) | Yes | No |
| Outgoing messages forwarded | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reply from email | Yes (as SMS) | Yes (as SMS) | Yes (as SMS) |
| OTP forwarding | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The short version: RCS forwarding is the closest thing PhoneLeash offers to "second-phone parity" — anything Google Messages shows you, your inbox shows you too.
Use Google Messages
PhoneLeash's RCS support is built around Google Messages. If you are using Samsung Messages (the app that ships pre-installed on older Galaxy phones) or another carrier-supplied messaging app, install Google Messages from the Play Store and set it as your default messaging app before turning on RCS forwarding.
Samsung itself is moving in this direction. Samsung has announced that the Samsung Messages app will be discontinued in July 2026 in the United States, with users directed to Google Messages as the replacement. Galaxy S25 and newer devices already ship with Google Messages as the default. Switching now means RCS forwarding works today, and you avoid the messaging-app transition Samsung is requiring next year either way.
Setup in three steps
Setup takes about two minutes. No technical expertise required.
1. Install PhoneLeash and complete the setup wizard
Download PhoneLeash from the Google Play Store. Open the app and follow the wizard — it asks for your destination (email or phone), tests delivery, and walks you through the standard SMS-forwarding permissions.
2. Set Google Messages as your default messaging app
If Google Messages is already your default, skip this. Otherwise install it from the Play Store and accept Android's prompt to make it the default SMS and RCS app. This is what makes RCS conversations visible to PhoneLeash in the first place.
3. Grant Notification Access
When the wizard reaches the notifications screen, tap Open Notifications and grant PhoneLeash the Notification Access permission Android prompts you for. This is the same permission smartwatches use, and it is what makes RCS forwarding possible. The forwarding-RCS help article covers what works and what does not in more depth, and the permissions guide explains why each Android permission is needed.
That is it. From now on every RCS message, group reply, and RCS OTP arrives at your destination automatically.
Limitations to know about
- Google Messages required. Other Android messaging apps either do not implement RCS at all or implement it in a way PhoneLeash cannot read.
- Outbound RCS with two or more images. Single-image outbound RCS forwards with the image included. Outbound RCS messages with two or more images currently lose the image attachments themselves — the text and an attachment marker still arrive, but the images do not. Incoming multi-image RCS is unaffected.
- Notification Listener is a sensitive permission. It gives an app access to your notification content. Only grant it to apps you trust.
Get started
Download PhoneLeash from Google Play and pick email or a phone number as your destination during setup. RCS forwarding is included in the 30-day free trial, in the OTP-only plan (for RCS OTP codes), and in the personal plan for full conversations. If Play Store ever shows the "this app isn't available for your device" error during install, see the older Android version article for fixes.