When viewing contact lists on your Samsung device, seeing a blue dot next to their name usually signifies that they have Rich Communication Services (RCS) enabled on their phone and that both parties are communicating using RCS advanced messages – this service provides much more functionality than standard SMS texts requiring either Wifi or mobile internet connection for connectivity.
The blue dot also indicates that you can send photos and videos with higher resolution than via traditional SMS text messaging, add emojis and stickers, as well as create group conversations between Samsung users with RCS enabled enabled (though this may depend on your carrier or operating system). Unfortunately, not all Samsung Galaxy devices support RCS functionality, though.
Additionally to enhanced messaging features, Samsung Galaxy owners with Android smartphones and mobile service providers that support RCS may enable read receipts and monitor when your contact has seen or read your message. However, this function is only available via tapping on the three dot icon at the top of Samsung Messages and selecting either Chat Settings or Chat Features, then toggling “Enable Chat Features” switch for activation.
You can disable the blue dot by opening your messaging app and tapping on the three dots located in the upper right corner. This will open advanced messages option where you can disable it before returning to regular SMS text message mode for this particular contact.
If your Samsung Galaxy phone is equipped with RCS enabled, then you will enjoy a richer text messaging experience with other Galaxy devices that also run the latest version of Messages app. This includes being able to send and receive messages of up to 8000 characters long, exchange high resolution photos of up to 3GB each and host group conversations of up to 100 participants – blue dot messages are considered RCS advanced messages while those sent with green dots will appear as regular SMS text messages in your message list.
If a blue dot appears next to a contact’s name on your phone and neither device have RCS enabled, this usually indicates that they have blocked you from communicating via the Messages app. Unlike social media blocking, however, this cannot be undone by you directly and must be cleared up directly through messaging itself or an third-party app such as Hide My Number.
