Google and Apple have started rolling out end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users, with the beta live today for iOS 26.5 users on supported carriers and Android users running the latest version of Google Messages.
When RCS messages are end-to-end encrypted, they can’t be read while they travel between devices — the same standard that already applies to iMessage chats and WhatsApp conversations. Google Messages shows a lock icon to confirm a cross-platform conversation is encrypted. Encryption is on by default and will enable automatically for new and existing RCS conversations over time, Google said.
Google Messages has had end-to-end encrypted messaging between Android devices for years, but cross-platform RCS chats between iPhones and Androids remained unencrypted because Apple only added RCS support in iOS 18. Google describes the change as the result of a cross-industry effort it led alongside Apple. Traditional SMS has never had built-in encryption, and earlier versions of RCS also lacked it by default.
This is the first time iPhone-to-Android texts can be encrypted end to end, closing a long-standing privacy gap that has persisted since RCS messaging was introduced. For anyone who messages across both ecosystems — which is most people — it means every conversation now gets the same baseline security, whether the person on the other end is using an iPhone or an Android.
via Google Blog ·
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