Apple to Soon Support Encrypted RCS Messages With Android

iPhone and Android users will soon be able to send end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) RCS messages to one another, as announced by The GSM Association.

As revealed by the association, new RCS specifications are being updated. The latest RCS standard will include E2EE on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. This thereby allows encrypted messages to be shared across iOS and Android.

The GSM Association states its work on supporting E2EE between iPhone and Android began in September of 2024. It’s been revealed that added E2EE support for encrypted RCS messages will be honoured across all of Apple’s software in future updates.

“End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA,” said Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer. “We will add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates.”

E2EE is a crucial privacy and security feature for users. Encrypting a message ensures that third parties, including telecom companies and messaging providers, are unable to view the contents of your messages. The GSM Association has claimed to have worked with  “mobile operators, device manufacturers, and technology providers.” This includes collaborating with Apple.

Apple’s support of RCS rolled out to iPhone as part of iOS 18.1 in 2024. This update replaced the use of SMS for RCS messaging for texts shared between Android users. The update served to improve text exchanges by enabling typing indicators, receipts of a read status, and higher resolutions for shared media. However, upon the launch of RCS, it was quite notable that it lacked the security of E2EE.