Text Messaging Between iPhone and Android Is Finally Getting More Secure

Tech giants like control, and secure messaging is one benefit Apple has long kept to itself. But Apple will eventually add end-to-end encryption to cross-platform messaging, such as between Apple and Android devices.

Messages between iPhone and Android will soon be encrypted

After Apple adopted Rich Communication Services (RCS) with iOS 18 , creating a better option for cross-platform messaging, Apple will now add end-to-end encryption to those RCS messages.

RCS messaging is essentially an enhanced version of SMS or MMS. Android devices have had the RCS standard since 2019. When RCS comes to Apple devices in 2024, messaging between Android and Apple devices will still be in green mode, but you'll suddenly be able to send high-resolution media across platforms, along with a host of other benefits.

According to Apple Support, RCS messaging gives you the same privileges as what you get on your device's proprietary messaging system, like iMessage.

"With RCS, you can send text messages, high-resolution photos and videos, links, and more. RCS also supports delivered and read receipts and typing indicators. RCS messages appear in green text bubbles on your device."

RCS messaging may have opened the door to enhanced communication between Android and Apple devices, but Apple didn't go so far as to add encryption in 2024. Apple's support site includes a disclaimer that "RCS messages are not end-to-end encrypted, meaning they are not protected from being read by third parties while they are being sent between devices . "

When will encrypted messaging between iPhone and Android roll out?

End-to-end encryption is now a requirement for RCS messaging. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GMSA), a non-profit organization representing mobile network operators around the world, has now added specifications for RCS that “ensure that messages and other content such as files remain secure and safe when transmitted between clients ,” according to the GMSA announcement.

Of course, Apple wants to make it clear that it has always prioritized messaging security, at least for Apple users. Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer told The Verge that end-to-end encryption is “a powerful security and privacy technology that iMessage has supported from the beginning,” and that the company is excited to “lead the cross-industry effort to include end-to-end encryption in the RCS Universal Profile announced by the GSMA . ”

According to Bauer's comments to The Verge, we can expect end-to-end encryption on cross-platform RCS messages in "future software updates" for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.

It’s nice to see that end-to-end encryption isn’t just a corporate prerogative, but an industry standard. Whether this is a step toward ending the messaging wars remains to be seen, but it’s good news for data security regardless. The really important question is: Will there be a new color for encrypted RCS messages, and if so, what will it be?