Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple previously confirmed plans to add end-to-end encryption to RCS messages in a future software update
- We’ve now spotted code that suggests end-to-end encryption could be coming to RCS messages on iPhones as early as iOS 26.
- Code suggests that Apple will be using the MLS protocol introduced by GSMA’s Universal Profile 3.0, which was developed with Apple’s involvement.
After years of holding out, Apple finally allowed iPhone users to take advantage of RCS texting with the release of iOS 18, letting them seamlessly text Android users. While RCS brings major features to Android-iOS conversations, such as high-quality media, text reactions, richer group chats, and more, it lacks one key feature: End-to-end encryption. Apple confirmed that end-to-end encryption is coming to RCS on iPhones in “future software updates.” We’ve now found that it could be as soon as iOS 26.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority?
When GSMA announced the new Universal Profile 3.0 specifications in March, they mentioned including end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. GSMA said this will make RCS the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between different client implementations.
The new RCS standard was developed in collaboration with mobile operators, device manufacturers, and technology providers, including Apple. Apple had shared the following statement at the time:
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. We will add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates.
“Future software updates” is rather vague, as it could mean practically any update in the future. Given how long it took for RCS to arrive on iPhones, it’s fair to be skeptical about when end-to-end encryption will come to RCS on iPhones. The good news is that iOS 26 betas, as far back as the first developer betas, include code related to end-to-end encryption:
Apple is testing the same MLS encryption that Google added to Google Messages, as you can see in the screenshot below:
This doesn’t definitively mark iOS 26 as the software version that will bring E2EE support to RCS on iPhones, but it at least indicates that the company has been working on it in this version. Support might end up getting pushed to some later versions, like iOS 26.1 or even later, like iOS 27, but we’re optimistic that support could arrive sooner rather than later.
If you were expecting Apple to bake in all the features from Universal Profile 3.0, then you should hold your horses. Apple doesn’t appear to be adding features like group icons and mentions (we couldn’t spot code related to them), so there’s a good chance that the company sticks to only features like encryption and keeps it barebones.
Note that iOS users already enjoy E2EE through iMessage. It’s only when conversing with Android users that the stock Messages app on iPhones switches to RCS, which lacks E2EE support. When RCS E2EE support arrives on iPhones in a future software update, messages between iPhone and Android users will be encrypted. This means that the messages and their contents, including files and media, will remain confidential and secure, and third parties, such as the messaging provider or the cell carrier, won’t be able to view the content of these messages.
Android-Android conversations don’t support E2EE by default unless both parties use a client app that supports E2EE, such as Google Messages. If Android users use different clients, the messages won’t be E2EE. If and when the messaging clients adopt the new RCS Universal Profile 3.0 with MLS, they will also support interoperable E2EE.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.