Apple will soon take care of the encrypted RCS messaging with Android users

IPhone and Android users will be able to exchange CRS encrypted from end -to -end (E2EE) in the near future thanks to newly updated RCS specifications. The GSM association announced that the latest RCS standard includes E2EE on the basis of the messaging layer safety protocol (MLS), allowing the interoperable encryption for the first time between different suppliers of platforms.

The GSM association said it started working to activate E2EE on messages sent between Android and iPhone In September of the year. E2EE is a confidentiality and security feature that prevents third parties, such as messaging providers or cell carriers, to consult the content of your texts. The GSMA claims that the new RCS standard has been developed in collaboration with “mobile operators, apparatus manufacturers and technology suppliers”, including Apple.

“End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that Hikes has supported from the start, and now we are delighted to have helped to carry out a cross effort to bring an end-to-end encryption to the RCS universal profile published by the GSMA,” said Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer. “We will add a support for encrypted RCS messages from start to finish to iOS, iOS, iPados, MacOS and Watchos in future software updates.”

Apple introduced RCS support to iPhones as part of an iOS 18 update in September. Although Apple’s owner’s Imessage system has already taken care of E2EE, this has not been extended to RCS messaging because the previous RCS standard has not provided a multiplatform support. Google messages also allowed E2EE By default for RCS texts, but only conversations between Google Messages users were E2EE, and not those exchanged with iMessage users or users of other RCS customers on Android.