ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Encrypted text messages may finally reach iPhone users with iOS 26.
- Code in the beta version of iOS 26 reveals strings for RCS encryption.
- With encryption, texts between iOS and Android will be more secure.
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With the release of iOS 18 in 2024, iPhone users were finally able to exchange rich text messages with their Android counterparts. However, one important feature has been missing — encryption. Now, this year’s new flavor of iOS may finally add that crucial security aspect to the mix.
Currently in beta ahead of its expected public release next month, iOS 26 contains code that points to end-to-end encryption in text exchanges between iOS and Android. As analyzed by the folks at Android Authority<!–>, the code contains two strings, one of which mentions RCS Encryption Enabled and the other RCS Encryption Opt-in Test Enabled.
Also: Why Apple’s RCS encryption move is a privacy game-changer for your texts
RCS, or Rich Communication Service, is a messaging standard released by Google a few years ago. Designed to replace SMS messaging, RCS is a more modern standard that can handle richer content.
With RCS enabled, texts from iPhone owners to Android users can include larger file attachments, higher-quality photos and videos, audio messages, read receipts, more types of emoji, and smoother group chats. This was the standard that both Apple and Google approved and implemented to allow texts between iOS and Android.
However, there’s been that pesky lack of encryption. Messages exchanged between iPhone owners using iMessage are encrypted, as are messages exchanged between Android owners using Google Messages. But messages exchanged between the two competing platforms have no such security in place, exposing them to eavesdropping and other risks.
Also: 5 iOS 26 features that made updating my iPhone worthwhile (and how to try them)
Earlier this year, Apple revealed that it would add support for encrypted RCS messages in future updates to iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and WatchOS. The company provided no clear timetable as to when that would happen, but the groundwork has already been completed.
Around the same time, the GSM Association announced new specifications for RCS that include end-to-end encryption (E2EE). Courtesy of the new standard, RCS will be the first major messaging format to support this type of encryption among different providers, including Apple and Google. This latest standard is based on a protocol known as Messaging Layer Security (MLS).
Also: You can delete sent text messages on Android now – here’s how
With MLS in place, RCS messages and their rich content remain confidential and secure as they’re routed from one device to another. By adding other security features such as SIM-based authentication–>, the end-to-end encryption will help keep RCS messages private, protecting people from scams, fraud, and other threats, the GSMA said at the time.
Of course, as Android Authority acknowledged, the strings in the code for iOS 26 don’t mean that RCS encryption will appear as soon as the new OS is released. Depending on how much progress Apple has made in this area, we may not see this until an update to iOS 26 later this year or even next year. Still, with the foundation in place, the ball is now in Apple’s court to bring this crucial security feature to its users.
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