Technology giants love to gatekeep, and secure messaging is one of those benefits that Apple has long held for its own kind. However, Apple will finally add end-to-end encryption for cross-platform messaging, such as that between Apple and Android devices.
Messaging Between iPhone and Android Will Soon Be Encrypted
Following Apple’s adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS) with iOS 18, which created a better option for cross-platform messaging, Apple will now add end-to-end encryption for those RCS messages.
RCS messaging is essentially an enhanced version of SMS or MMS. Android devices have had the RCS standard since 2019. When RCS came to Apple devices in 2024, messages between Android and Apple devices remained green, but you could suddenly send high-resolution media across platforms, among other benefits.
According to Apple Support, RCS messaging offers you perks similar to what you’d get on a device’s proprietary messaging system, like iMessage.
“With RCS, you can send texts, high resolution photos and videos, links, and more. RCS also supports delivery and read receipts and typing indicators. RCS messages appear in green text bubbles on your device.”
RCS messaging may have opened the door to enhanced communication between Android and Apple devices, but Apple did not go so far as to add encryption in 2024. Apple’s support site provided the disclaimer that “RCS messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted, which means they’re not protected from a third-party reading them while they’re sent between devices.”
When to Expect Encrypted Messaging Between iPhone and Android
Establishing end-to-end encryption is now a requirement for RCS messaging. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GMSA), a nonprofit representing the world’s mobile network operators, has now added specifications for RCS that “ensure that messages and other content such as files remain confidential and secure as they travel between clients,” according to the GMSA’s announcement.
Of course, Apple wants to make clear that it has always prioritized message security—at least, for Apple users. Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer told The Verge that end-to-end encryption is a “powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning,” and the company is excited to “lead a cross industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA.”
According to Bauer’s comments to The Verge, we can expect end-to-end encryption on cross-platform RCS messages in “future software updates” for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.
From my perspective, I’m glad to see that end-to-end encryption is not just a company prerogative but an industry standard. Whether this is a step towards ending the messaging wars remains to be seen, but regardless, it’s good news for data security. The real important question is: will there be a new color that represents encrypted RCS messages, and if so, what color will it be?
