Android-iPhone messages can finally be end-to-end encrypted as Apple ships RCS update
Apple released iOS 26.5 on Monday, bringing support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between iPhone and Android users. This is a long-anticipated development in messaging interoperability; Google had urged Apple to make the change for years.
The feature extends Apple's Messages app to support encryption over RCS. When a user is on a carrier that supports RCS and the other party's device is compatible, the message will be automatically end-to-end encrypted. Apple has added a small lock icon and an "Encrypted" label at the top of the chat to indicate when a conversation has the new protection.
Google has been working since 2019 to develop RCS into a broader messaging standard, and enabled end-to-end encrypted RCS between Android devices in 2023. The cross-platform piece, however, was an area Apple had previously chosen not to participate in. The company's announcement this year brings Google's long-standing push to a resolution.
The standard version of RCS, or Rich Communication Services, has been under discussion in the telecommunications industry since 2008. The previous-generation messaging protocol, SMS, had a more limited technical base. RCS added file sharing, longer character ranges and read receipts, among other features. Encryption support is an extension that has come with RCS 8.0.
Apple said end-to-end encrypted messaging would be "on by default" and that it "will be automatically enabled over time for new and existing RCS conversations." This means encryption is activated without explicit opt-in. The beta version delivers the feature now; the full rollout will reach all users over the coming weeks.
Security researchers said Apple's implementation is built on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. MLS is an IETF standard that can maintain end-to-end encryption in large multi-party chats. While established messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal use their own protocols, MLS has started to emerge as the industry standard.
Cryptographer Bruce Schneier wrote in a blog post that "this is a comprehensive security improvement for billions of users." Schneier added that Apple and Google reaching common ground on this standard should accelerate Microsoft and other industry players moving in the same direction.
Apple's encryption feature has raised questions in relation to several national legal frameworks. The UK's Online Safety Act includes provisions that require messaging platforms to provide "lawful access" to law-enforcement authorities. In the US, the Senate's EARN IT Act under review carries comparable provisions.
Apple's statement is that end-to-end encryption is compatible with legal demands but that the company "will not, at any cost, preserve a backdoor to messages." The company had previously threatened to withdraw Advanced Data Protection from the UK in 2024 when it sensed potential messaging-app scanning could be required under the Online Safety Act.
For users, the changes coming with iOS 26.5 will be activated automatically at the operating-system level. Apple said all iPhone models from 2018 onwards would receive support for the new encryption. Google's Messages app may require a mirror update; Android-side compatibility had been in place as of Monday.