RCS texts on the iPhone aren’t encrypted now, but that could change

The GSM Association, the organization that develops the RCS standard, said on Tuesday it’s working to enable end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on messages sent between Android and iPhone. E2EE prevents third parties, like your messaging service or cell carrier, from viewing your texts.

In the announcement, GSMA technical director Tom Van Pelt said the next milestone for RCS Universal Profile is the “first deployment of standardized, interoperable messaging encryption between different computing platforms.” The move would help bridge a major gap in interoperability — especially now that Apple’s on board with RCS.

On Monday, Apple’s iOS 18 update replaced SMS with RCS messaging for texts sent to users on Android. While the change doesn’t get rid of the green bubbles, it will finally allow cross-platform users to share high-res media, as well as see read receipts and typing indicators. But Apple’s implementation of RCS is missing one key feature: E2EE.

Currently, not all RCS providers offer E2EE. Google Messages is one of the exceptions, as it started enabling E2EE by default for RCS conversations last year. Apple’s proprietary iMessage system has E2EE enabled as well, but it doesn’t apply the same protection for RCS messages.

“We believe that E2EE is a critical component of secure messaging, and we have been working with the broader ecosystem to bring cross-platform E2EE to RCS chats as soon as possible,” Elmar Weber, a general manager at Google, said on LinkedIn. “Google is committed to providing a secure and private messaging experience for users, and we remain dedicated to making E2EE standard for all RCS users regardless of the platform.”

As an Android user, I’m just happy that I’ll finally be able to send high-quality photos and videos to my iPhone-wielding friends and family. E2EE would just be an added plus.