Introduction:

Recently Alphabet (holding company of google.com) has announced a new Google’s play store policy. This has been done following the Google+ data leak and has severe implications for apps in India. Really?  How about competition from BULK SMS API.

Problem Statement:

So, actually what is the mandate of this policy. It just prevents you from accessing call records, SMS records and Calendar information on your Android phones. This means the OTP messages sent through Bulk SMS API will not be auto-read. Well, Apple + iOS were doing this from the beginning, so what’s the big deal. However, Alphabet did not clarify what is the commercial impact for application owners by moving to the proposed ‘SMS retriever API’. An alternative that will be forced upon a business’ in place of the regular SMS API Service that was being used till now.

Alternative Solutions:

Here are some options for the app owners:

1. Quickly move over to the retriever API and stand chance for further leakage of your user data.
2. Continue using the existing SMS API and let the Android users key in the OTP manually.
3. Move to other non-scalable forms of 2nd Factor authentication. Even more risk and cumbersome.

While option 1 and 3 provide alternates, albite difficult ones. The real option is to continue using the existing SMS API. Both option 1 and 3 involve a significant development cost and most of the business will not risk having a different system of verification on app vs. the one their website. In addition to cost, the risk of security and user level friction, the issue of support and continuity is a big worry for the transport management.

Impact:

How does this announcement impact the overall SMS Gateway market? Frankly, the impact is negligible. OTP’s volume represents only a small part of overall SMS volumes. The real value and impact of BULK SMS are felt through transactional SMS and promotional SMS service. These are the services that help businesses’ establish real engagement with its subscribers and have a definitive impact on business growth and at times the net worth of the organization.

Options:

One can source a Bulk sms service online, websites like Mtalkz provide a highly reliable and superior service including delivery to more than 200 international destinations. These sites also provide Voice SMS, and Email services. If you are looking forward to enabling your SMS API to create a positive impact on your net worth, then organisations like Mtalkz are the real partners for you. Architect your SMS Strategy with Mtalkz