Victory! End-to-End Encrypted RCS Comes to Apple and Android Chats

"With this update, conversations that take place between Apple's Messages app and Google Messages on Android will be end-to-end encrypted by default, as long as the carrier supports both RCS and encrypted messages (you can find a list of carriers here ). RCS messages are a replacement for SMS , and in 2024 Apple started supporting it, making for a marked improvement in the quality of images and other media shared between Android and iPhones."

"Now, those conversations can also benefit from the increased privacy and security that end-to-end encryption offers, making it so neither Google, Apple, nor the cellular carriers have access to the contents of messages. This feature comes courtesy of both Apple and Google supporting the GSMA RCS Universal Profile 3.0 , which implements the Messaging Layer Security protocol for encryption. Metadata will likely still be collected and stored for these conversations, making alternatives like Signal still a better option for many conversations."

"Likewise, if you back up those conversations to the cloud, they may be stored unencrypted unless you enable Advanced Data Protection on iOS ( Google Messages end-to-end encrypts the text of messages in backups, but not the media, so we'd like to see a similar offering as ADP on Android ). Still, this is a significant step forward for the privacy of millions of conversations worldwide."

"End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging is still marked as beta on Apple devices, likely because the rollout is dependent on carriers as well as the Android phone running the most recent version of Google Messages. It might take some time before you get this feature in your chats and until yo"

iOS 26.5 adds end-to-end encryption for Rich Communication Services (RCS), encrypting conversations between iPhone and Android in default chat apps when carrier support is available. Messages between Apple’s Messages app and Google Messages on Android are encrypted by default if both RCS and encrypted messaging are supported by the carrier. RCS replaces SMS and improves media quality, and Apple began supporting RCS in 2024. Encryption is provided through Apple and Google support for the GSMA RCS Universal Profile 3.0 using Messaging Layer Security. Message metadata may still be collected, and cloud backups may remain unencrypted unless Advanced Data Protection is enabled on iOS. The feature is in beta on Apple devices and depends on carrier rollout and the latest Google Messages version on Android.

Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation