Or SMS as you probably know it.
SMS messages are frankly just text messages, not even emojis. The standard by itself cannot support images or video, you'll need MMS for that, and there is a character limit of 160 per message. So if you've ever sent or received a message broken apart into different sections (sometimes out of order) that's exactly why.
The first SMS was sent was over 30 years ago on Dec. 3, 1992. The message read "Merry Christmas" and was sent by Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old engineer who had been working on developing the technology, to Richard Jarvis, yes like the AI assistant from Iron Man.
The technology was built on the already existing technology supporting phone calls, but this time text, and it was initially built for the Global System for Mobiles (GSM) networks but now is still supported by modern 5G networks. The standard takes form using the protocol description unit (PDU).
The PDU uses a string of encoded characters that describes where the message needs to go, who sent the message, when they did, and even more. To learn even more specifics regarding how SMS works I recommend this article by Android Authority that breaks down the information very well!
SMS is one of the most common messaging standards, it is decreasing in use though as more modern messaging systems like RCS and iMessage become available. This is because of what those other platforms offer, security. SMS was the original text message, and at the time cyber privacy wasn't a huge issue like it is now.
That being said, unfortunately that means it's not that secure. According to the University of Pretoria, South Africa "by default SMS does not guarantee confidentiality and integrity to the message content." It is sent in a clear, predictable format (see image above) and given the right knowledge someone could eavesdrop SMS messages extremely easily.
To learn how you can better protect your messages try checking out our RCS or Platforms pages!
