iOS 18 was launched on Monday for eligible iPhone fashions, bringing with it help for wealthy communication providers (or RCS) on supported community suppliers. Messages despatched between iOS and Android customers will quickly be upgraded with help for options discovered on third-party messaging apps together with typing indicators, learn receipts and better high quality media attachments. In the meantime, Google has introduced that it’s working to introduce help for cross-platform end-to-end encryption (E2EE) RCS messaging, with a view to safe chats between iOS and Android smartphones.
Normal Supervisor (Android & Enterprise Communication Merchandise) Elmar Weber acknowledged in a publish on LinkedIn that Google is “working with the broader ecosystem to deliver cross-platform E2EE to RCS chats as quickly as attainable.” The search large must collaborate with the GSM Affiliation (GSMA) and Apple with a view to implement help for cross-platform message encryption.
Presently, the GSMA’s RCS Common Profile specification doesn’t embody help for E2EE messaging, which implies that messages despatched between an iPhone and an Android smartphone are at present not protected by E2E encryption, permitting community service suppliers to learn the contents of chats.
Google launched E2EE chat encryption for particular person chats 4 years in the past, whereas help for encrypted group chats was launched in 2023. Nevertheless, Google added E2EE help to the Messages app and never the RCS normal itself, which implies that solely RCS chats between two Google Messages customers can be protected with end-to-end encryption.
Final yr, Apple told 9to5Mac that it might not use proprietary E2EE for RCS chats (reminiscent of Google’s implementation), including that it might work with GSMA members to enhance the safety and encryption of messages despatched utilizing the RCS protocol.
It is price noting that Apple has added help for RCS chats with iOS 18, however adoption relies on carriers implementing help for the know-how ruled by the GSMA. In response to Apple’s support documentation, solely 25 carriers within the US and Canada provide RCS messaging, whereas operators in Europe, Latin America, Center East and Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific area are but so as to add help for the performance.
