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Send Different RCS Versions to iPhone and Android Subscribers

Charles Jorgensen
Updated

RCS looks different on iPhone and Android. If you know which phone your subscribers use, you can build a group for each and send a version designed for that phone. Everyone else gets your version for both phones, as described in Design RCS Messages for iPhone and Android.

Find out which phone subscribers use

From link clicks in Mobile Commons

When a subscriber taps a trackable link in one of your messages, Mobile Commons records the phone they tapped from. You can build a group from that:

  1. Create a dynamic group. For more information, see Organizing profile groups.
  2. Add the filter Has clicked a link, Phone OS, and select iOS for iPhone subscribers or Android for Android subscribers.
  3. Select PREVIEW to check the group size, then select CREATE GROUP.

A few things to know:

  • The filter only finds subscribers who have tapped a trackable link at some point. Text and MMS links are the main source.
  • It looks at every link click, no matter how old. Someone who switched phones can appear in both groups.
  • In RCS messages, taps on action buttons don't record the phone. Only links in Basic or Enhanced message text do, when you add them as trackable links (for example, {{https://example.org/donate}}).

You can also see the phone a subscriber used in the Browser column of a link's click list and on the subscriber's profile under Web Clicks.

From your own analytics

Some organizations already know which phone each supporter uses from their own website analytics. For example:

  1. Turn on Add profile information to HTTP parameters on your trackable link so your website receives the subscriber's profile ID when they tap the link. For more information, see Adding trackable links.
  2. Your website's analytics tool, such as Google Analytics, records the phone's operating system for that visit.
  3. Your data team matches the profile ID to the operating system and exports a list.
  4. Upload that list to Mobile Commons as a custom field or group, then build your iPhone and Android groups from it.

This depends on your own analytics setup. Your data team or your CSM can help you plan it.

iPhone version

  • Use one action button per message or card.
  • Keep card text to about 3 lines, with the key message at the top.
  • Always include a card title.
  • Use MP4 for anything animated. GIFs show as still images.
  • Keep important content in the center of the image, since large text settings can crop it.
  • Image sizes:
  • Rich Card: 1620 x 1080 (3:2) or 1440 x 1080 (4:3)
  • Carousel card: 1920 x 1080 (16:9)

Android version

  • You can use more than one action button. They all show on the message.
  • You can use longer descriptions, since Android shows more text.
  • GIFs animate.
  • Android uses the Media Height you choose, so you can match the image to it:
  • Rich Card: Short 3780 x 1080 (7:2), Medium 2520 x 1080 (21:9), Tall 1620 x 1080 (3:2)
  • Carousel, Medium width: Small height 2880 x 1080 (8:3), Medium height 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
  • Carousel, Small width: Small height 1728 x 1080 (16:10), Medium height 1080 x 1080 (1:1)

FAQ

What happens to subscribers who aren't in either group? They don't get either device version. Send them a version designed for both phones.

Can a subscriber be in both groups? Yes, if they've tapped links from both an iPhone and an Android phone. Check your group sizes with PREVIEW before you send.

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