RCS texts on the iPhone aren’t encrypted now, but that could change

The GSM Affiliation, the group that develops the RCS commonplace, said on Tuesday it’s working to allow end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on messages despatched between Android and iPhone. E2EE prevents third events, like your messaging service or cell provider, from viewing your texts.

Within the announcement, GSMA technical director Tom Van Pelt mentioned the following milestone for RCS Common Profile is the “first deployment of standardized, interoperable messaging encryption between totally different computing platforms.” The transfer would assist bridge a significant hole in interoperability — particularly now that Apple’s on board with RCS.

Presently, not all RCS suppliers supply E2EE. Google Messages is one of the exceptions, because it began enabling E2EE by default for RCS conversations final 12 months. Apple’s proprietary iMessage system has E2EE enabled as properly, nevertheless it doesn’t apply the identical safety for RCS messages.

“We imagine that E2EE is a vital element of safe messaging, and we’ve been working with the broader ecosystem to deliver cross-platform E2EE to RCS chats as quickly as potential,” Elmar Weber, a normal supervisor at Google, said on LinkedIn. “Google is dedicated to offering a safe and personal messaging expertise for customers, and we stay devoted to creating E2EE commonplace for all RCS customers whatever the platform.”

As an Android person, I’m simply joyful that I’ll lastly be capable of ship high-quality images and movies to my iPhone-wielding family and friends. E2EE would simply be an added plus.

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