Google’s RCS Promotional Traffic Limits in India (Jan 7, 2026): What Changed & How Brands Should Respond

On January 7, 2026, Google announced new RCS promotional traffic limits in India for promotional RCS for Business agents. The biggest change is a new cap on the total number of unique users a promotional agent can message in a rolling 28-day period—based on the agent’s reputation. 

If you use RCS for promotions (offers, launches, reactivation, reminders that are marketing-led), these RCS promotional traffic limits in India should shape your campaign planning, audience sizing, frequency caps, and channel mix.

What exactly are the new RCS promotional traffic limits in India?

Google’s release notes confirm the update: new traffic limits for promotional agents in India, adding a new limit on unique users per 28 days, based on reputation, and new agents start low. 

The two limits you must plan around

According to Google’s India business rules, RCS promotional traffic limits in India apply to: 

1. Total initial messages to a specific user (rolling 28 days)
2. Total unique users the agent can reach (rolling 28 days)

“Initial messages” vs “Replies” (critical)

Google explicitly says replies to user-initiated messages are exempt from these RCS promotional traffic limits in India—so customer support / two-way interactions don’t get blocked by reach caps.

The reputation tiers (why your RCS reach is now “earned”)

Google defines reputation tiers based on agent performance, influenced by user feedback and spam reports:

• • High: low spam reports
  • Medium: moderate spam reports (default tier for agents)
  • Low: high spam reports (needs remediation) 

Important: for these RCS promotional traffic limits in India, Google also states new agents start with low reputation by default. 

Limit table (India promotional agents)

RCS promotional traffic limits in India — initial messages per user (28 days): 

• • High: 8
  • Medium: 4
  • Low: 2

RCS promotional traffic limits in India — unique users (28 days): 

• • High: 300 million
  • Medium: 25 million
  • Low: 1 million

Communication hours (India)

Businesses can only initiate promotional conversations between 7AM and 10PM, 7 days a week.

Why Google introduced RCS promotional traffic limits in India?

India is one of the most sensitive markets for promotional messaging because spam at scale can quickly destroy trust. Google previously halted RCS promotional messaging in India in 2022 after reports of rampant spam—showing how seriously they treat abuse prevention. 

The new RCS promotional traffic limits in India are best understood as:

• • Anti-spam protection
  • Reputation-based quality enforcement
  • A way to keep RCS valuable for users and sustainable for brands

What this means for marketers (real-world impact)?

If you run promotional campaigns, the RCS promotional traffic limits in India change how you should think about:

1) Frequency strategy (per user)

If your agent reputation is Low, you have only 2 initial messages per user per 28 days. That pushes you to:

• • stop “spray & pray”
  • design fewer, higher-value touches
  • shift “nurture” into user-initiated replies (which are exempt) 

2) Audience sizing (unique users cap)

The new unique-user cap is the headline update in RCS promotional traffic limits in India. For low-reputation agents, your reachable unique users over 28 days is capped at 1 million. 

3) Launch planning for new agents

Because new agents start Low by default, early campaigns must be:

• • smaller audience
  • tighter targeting
  • best-intent users first (opt-in strength, brand familiarity, prior engagement)

A practical playbook to stay within RCS promotional traffic limits in India

Here’s how to win under the new RCS promotional traffic limits in India without killing ROI.

Step 1 — Treat RCS like “high-intent inventory,” not bulk inventory

Use RCS promotions where rich UX improves conversion:

• • product cards / carousels
  • “tap to buy” flows
  • store locator / appointment booking
  • reactivation with a strong CTA

Step 2 — Build a hard frequency cap (28-day rolling)

Implement a campaign rule:

• • No more than X initial messages per user per 28 days (match your reputation tier)
  • If user replies → move the rest of the journey into two-way conversation (exempt) 

Step 3 — Reduce spam reports (how to climb reputation)

Reputation is driven by spam reports/user feedback.

To reduce spam reports:

• • Make opt-in clear and provable
  • Use honest sender identity + consistent brand voice
  • Send fewer but more relevant messages
  • Provide easy opt-out
  • Avoid deceptive urgency and misleading offers

“Golden rule” under RCS promotional traffic limits in India

If a user didn’t expect it, don’t send it.

Step 4 — Segment “promo” vs “transactional/OTP”

Promotional limits apply to promotional agents/use cases. India rules also support OTP and Transactional use cases globally. 

So:

• • OTP should remain OTP
  • order updates should remain transactional
  • keep promos clearly promotional

Step 5 — Use omnichannel backups to protect revenue

When you hit RCS promotional traffic limits in India, don’t force more promo messages. Instead:

• • run RCS for best segments
  • shift broader outreach to compliant SMS (where appropriate)
  • use WhatsApp for opt-in based high intent journeys
  • use voice and IVR for urgent outreach or support

Conclusion

The new RCS promotional traffic limits in India are not “bad news”—they’re a signal that quality is the new scale. Brands that respect opt-in, send fewer and more relevant promotions, and build two-way journeys will protect reputation and expand reach over time. Use RCS for your highest-intent segments, then rely on SMS/WhatsApp/Voice backups to maintain pipeline continuity when your promo reach is capped.

Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only. Google can update RCS rules and traffic limits at any time. Always verify the latest RCS promotional traffic limits in India and business rules in Google’s official documentation before launching campaigns.

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