Forced to switch from Samsung Messages to Google... NOT!

I spent today trying to deny Google the opportunity to manage my texts after today. It took forever for me to figure out how to do this. To save other people time, let me share what I learned. I hate Google and I don't trust them with managing my texts. I searched online for alternatives. Fossify was suggested as an alternative messaging app, however, I couldn't make it work on my Samsung phone, no matter what I did.

A search indicated that Fossify wasn't working because Samsung demands that any messaging app on their Galaxy phones must cover SMS, MMS and RCS. Figuring it was hopeless with Fossify, I searched for apps that allowed SMS and MMS. I found two. One is Textra and I don't recall the name of the other app.

Anyhow, Textra is working fine. I wasn't blocked from making it the default texting app, as I was with Fossify. I normally prefer open source like Fossify, but it's not working. Maybe the developers can put the necessary work in to make Fossify compatible with Samsung phones.