The GSM Association has announced an update to the RCS (Rich Communication Services) standard that includes end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. This update will enable interoperable encryption between different platform providers, allowing iPhone and Android users to exchange E2EE RCS messages in the near future. This is a significant step forward for Apple RCS Messaging.
The new RCS standard was developed in collaboration with mobile operators, device manufacturers, and technology providers, including Apple. The GSM Association says it had started working to enable E2EE on messages sent between Android and iPhone in September last year.
Apple has confirmed that it will add support for E2EE RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates. Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer said, “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.”
Apple introduced RCS support to iPhones as part of an iOS 18 update in September. However, E2EE was not initially extended to RCS messaging because the previous RCS standard didn’t provide cross-platform support. Google Messages has already enabled 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 clients on Android.
Google spokesperson Ed Fernandez told The Verge, “We’ve always been committed to giving a secure messaging experience, and Google Messages users have had end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) RCS messaging for years. We’re excited to have this updated specification from GSMA and work as quickly as possible with the mobile ecosystem to implement and extend this important user protection to cross-platform RCS messaging.”