Android and iPhone users will finally be able to send encrypted text messages to each other | Technology News
Text messages may not be as popular as they used to be, but they are still used by companies and people around the world to communicate with one another.
While Android users can already send end-to-end (EE2E) encrypted messages via RCS, the iPhone maker has now announced that it will soon add support for the same. Developed in collaboration with the GSM Association, Apple said that it will be adapting the newly unveiled RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which includes E2EE based on the Messaging Layer Security protocol, which enables encryption between different platforms.
For those wondering, Rich Communication Services, or RCS for short, is a messaging protocol that allows users to send messages, share files, send high resolution photos and react to messages. The messaging protocol also enables features such as typing indicators, emoji reactions, read receipts and video attachments across platforms. As for E2EE or End-to-end encryption, it is a privacy feature that prevents third parties from eavesdropping or viewing contents of the conversation.
In a statement to The Verge, Apple also said that they will be adding “support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS and watchOS in future software updates.” To give you a quick recap, Apple’s iMessage has been using E2EE since the beginning while support for RCS was added just last year with iOS 18.
With Apple now bringing end-to-end encryption to RCS on iPhones, it looks like the Apple vs Google war will finally be over, at least when it comes to messaging.
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