Discover the world of the Verified SMS

“Now you can ask LabsMobile for an SMS Verification account”

What are Verified SMS?

Companies send billions of SMS each year to communicate with consumers, but sometimes it can be difficult to trust those messages. Many times, senders are random numbers and sometimes the messages can be tricky. 

It’s for this that the new Google Verified Messages we incorporated at LabsMobile add the verification of the sender and the brand to commercial SMS, which makes these messages safer and more reliable.

Technically, a Verified SMS is a standar SMS (160 characters) but with a sender validation carried out by a trusted third-party, in this case, Google. Then, the receiver will read the SMS with a special dialogue that shows the companies’ logo together with the main information of the company.

Advantages of using Verified SMS 

Google’s verified SMS help companies improve their conversions with users that generate trust and prevent scams.

The most highlighted advantages of the Verified SMS service are:

• The safety and reliability of the message
• A positive brand image
• Easy recommendation of the brand
• Trust for users
• Creating more attractive SMS campaigns

Many brands need to establish trust as one of their main priorities, because 3 in 5 clients don’t buy from a brand they don’t trust. And even less with the increase in SMS and fraud calls during Covid-19.

Besides, research carried out by Google shows that 57% of users in the USA (who communicate using SMS for business purposes) consider that SMS are spam or fraud. Then, without the support of a verified brand, clients have it harder to differentiate between common messages, phishing, or fraud.

WIth Verified SMS, brands can earn their clients’ trust and improve their open rates, making sure clients know exactly who’s contacting them. 

Then, from Google and LabsMobile, we empower brands to build trust and maintain safe communications, especially in cases like: tracing senders, fraud alerts, promotions or coupons, invoices, RSVP, delivery notifications, 2-step authentications, entries, or product reviews. 

How do Verified SMS work?

Verified SMS work by previously notifying Google about the sent messages by a certain sender (company or organization) with the registered senders. In this way, if the receiver has a device that’s compatible with this technology, they’ll see the message as a Verified SMS. 

When a message is verified, users see the commercial name of the sender, the commercial logo, and a verification badge in the thread of the message.

Today (October 2021), compatible devices with this technology should comply with the following requirements: 

• Android operating system.
• Messages app with a version equal or superior to 5.2
• Messages app configured as the default one in the device.

Devices compatible with the Verified SMS technology by Google will receive a standard SMS.

Google is the responsible one in these verifications. All communications between companies and Google are totally safe and the content of the messages are never shared with third parties. Thus, this technology complies with the principles and laws of privacy and data protection. 

When an eligible user gets an SMS by a company registered on Verified SMS, Google translates the message into a code of authenticity that’s irreversible and illegible, all in the users’ device. Then, Google compares this code with other codes sent to Google by the sender company (or the aggregator company, in this case, LabsMobile). If these codes coincide, Google confirms that the message is verified and applies the badge and brand of verification to the message thread together with an embedded preview of the URL.

All this encryption process doesn’t affect the reception or the delivery time of the messages.

LabsMobile offers, together with Google, the verified SMS service that will give clients and companies a feeling of safety.

Some numbers and stats

Through a piece of research carried out by Google, we got to know that 77% of consumers in the United States felt safer with a company with verified SMS when compared with normal ones.

In Brazil, this data goes up to 88%, who clearly prefer verified SMS. 

Does Google have access to the content of your SMS?

No, never. This is a safe protocol that uses authenticity codes which are irreversible and illegible to guarantee that Google cannot read the content of the message. Besides, all the authenticity codes are automatically eliminated when they coincide or after 7 days, whatever happens first. 

Who can use Verified SMS? 

All the companies and brands that sign up for the verification process can make use of this service. LabsMobile has been through it and is ready to start. 

Where are the Verified SMS available?

Google’s verified SMS have been launched in 10 countries for the time being: the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brasil, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, India, and the Philippines. And Google plans to keep on expanding its use to many countries worldwide. 

The last tests carried out by LabsMobile in October 2021 show a compatibility of 27% in Spain when using Verified SMS. Thanks to the agreements of Google with developers and other platforms (like Apple), it’s estimated that the coverage will increase significantly in the next few months. 

How is it valuable for my company to have Verified SMS?

Verified SMS increase the users’ trust in the messages you are sending. Plus, it improves your user experience. All of this is particularly important because of the number of phishing attacks based on SMS. 

SMS, then, can improve your communication with clients by verifying the authenticity of the SMS you are sending. Besides, it will give clients the opportunity of seeing your logo, the description, and a verification badge, together with a preview of your embedded URLs.

How can I start to verify the messages of my business? 

For a quick and simple incorporation, we recommend that you get in touch with LabsMobile’s support team to implement Google’s verified SMS protocol. 

Do Verified SMS increase loyalty with SMS?

At LabsMobile and Google we believe that it’s more likely for users to interact with verified SMS because they are more trustful and the user experience is improved. 

What users can receive the verified SMS?

Today, verified SMS are available for users of the app Messages (version 5.2 or over) of Google for Android. It’s because of this reason that they are not available for other devices yet. 

Anyway, receivers that don’t have Android terminals will receive the SMS message in an unverified form. 

How much does the verified SMS cost?

Today, Verified SMS do not cost anything. Thus, they cost exactly the same as a standard SMS.

Verified SMS conclusions

All in all, verified SMS help clients to recognize business messages and avoid fraud. This technology by Google gives them safety and trust when purchasing. Plus, Google always respects privacy, together with the added provider, LabsMobile. 

This technology is already available in LabsMobile and the increasing coverage makes it possible for more and more countries to have this service available soon.