Google working on cross-platform encryption after iOS 18 adds RCS support
iOS 18 rolled out to eligible iPhone models on Monday, adding support for Rich Communication Services (or RCS) on supported carriers. Messages sent between iOS and Android users will soon be upgraded with support for features found in third-party messaging apps, including typing indicators, read receipts, and higher-quality media attachments. Meanwhile, Google has announced that it is working on introducing support for cross-platform end-to-end encryption (E2EE) RCS messaging, to help secure chats between iOS and Android smartphones.
General Manager (Android & Business Communication Products) Elmar Weber said in a LinkedIn post that Google is “working with the broader ecosystem to bring cross-platform E2EE to RCS chats as soon as possible.” The search giant will have to work with the GSM Association (GSMA) and Apple to implement support for cross-platform message encryption.
Currently, the GSMA’s RCS Universal Profile specification does not support E2EE messaging. This means that messages sent between an iPhone and an Android smartphone are not protected by E2E encryption, allowing network service providers to read the contents of chats.
Google introduced E2EE chat encryption for individual chats four years ago, while support for encrypted group chats was introduced in 2023. However, Google added E2EE support to the Messages app and not the RCS standard itself, meaning only RCS chats between two Google Messages users will be protected with end-to-end encryption.
Last year, Apple told 9to5Mac noted that it would not use proprietary E2EE for RCS chats (like Google’s implementation), and added that it would work with GSMA members to improve the security and encryption of messages sent over the RCS protocol.
It’s worth noting that Apple added support for RCS chats with iOS 18, but adoption is dependent on carriers implementing support for the technology, which is governed by the GSMA. According to Apple’s support documentationOnly 25 carriers in the US and Canada offer RCS messaging, while carriers in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific region have yet to expand support for this functionality.
