Texts between iPhones and Android phones will soon be far more secure! A new update to the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol—backed by telecom industry group GSMA—has added end-to-end encryption (E2EE), meaning only you and the person you’re messaging can read your chats.
RCS is a modern upgrade to traditional SMS, bringing popular features like group chats, typing indicators, high-quality media sharing, and read receipts—similar to apps like WhatsApp. While Android phones embraced RCS early on, Apple resisted until finally joining last year with iOS 18. However, until now, texts between iPhones and Androids lacked E2EE, leaving a security gap.
The latest RCS specs fix this, ensuring cross-platform messages stay private. This move addresses long-standing privacy concerns, as unencrypted SMS texts are vulnerable to hacking or surveillance. With E2EE now standardized, billions of users worldwide can enjoy safer, feature-rich messaging—no third-party apps needed.
Apple’s adoption of RCS last year marked a major shift, but the lack of encryption drew criticism. Now, with encryption in place, the tech rivals are closer than ever to delivering seamless, secure communication for everyone.
Selling point
Imagine texting your friend on Android from your iPhone—with complete encrypted privacy. That future is closer as major tech players unite to encrypt cross-platform texts.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) scrambles messages so only the sender and receiver can read them—blocking hackers, companies, and even service providers. Apple introduced E2EE for iMessage in 2011 (iOS-only), while WhatsApp expanded it globally by 2016 (WhatsApp-only). Google later added E2EE to its Messages app, but it worked only for Android-to-Android texts.
Securing chats across different apps and devices. Enter the GSMA’s new “RCS Universal Profile 3.0,” a global standard for messaging. Using the advanced Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, this upgrade bakes E2EE directly into RCS—the system replacing SMS. Ultimately iPhone and Android users can securely chat via their default messaging apps, no third-party downloads needed.
According to a statement from GSMA technical director Tom Van Pelt, RCS will become the initial major messaging service to enable compatible end-to-end encryption (E2EE) among various provider’s client implementations. Along with SIM-based authentication and other exclusive security measures, E2EE will offer RCS users the utmost level of privacy and protection against potential scams, fraud, and breaches of security and privacy.
