Key Takeaways
- Apple added RCS support with iOS 18.
- A recent press release from Samsung highlights the fact that RCS on iPhone lacks the encryption.
- GMSA is working to implement end-to-end encryption to its RCS Universal Profile.
RCS messaging finally arrived on the iPhone with iOS 18 in September. It essentially made messaging Android users on your iPhone a lot more like iMessage.
While there are many benefits to RCS (rich communication services) messaging, like read receipts, Samsung is reminding users of one major drawback regarding RCS chats with iPhone users: a lack of encryption (via Android Police). Buried in the fine print of a Samsung press release highlighting the benefits of RCS, lies one interesting note which reads:
“All members of a chat must have RCS enabled. Requires Google Messages for Android users and iOS 18 or later for iPhone users. Encryption is only available for Android-to-Android communication.”
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Apple cares more about iMessage than RCS
Apple could’ve added end-to-end encryption with its RCS implementation
Apple/Pocket-lint
The press release from Samsung highlights several of the benefits users see with RCS, whether it’s enhanced group chats, text reactions, or high-quality media streaming. Google spent years pressuring Apple to adopt RCS. It even launched an ad campaign with the slogan #GetTheMessage.
Finally, this year Apple implemented RCS with iOS 18, giving iPhone users more options when communicating with friends and family on Android devices. However, its implementation used the RCS Universal Profile, created by the GSMA, which unfortunately doesn’t include end-to-end encryption. The reason Android-to-Android messaging has end-to-end encryption is thanks to Google Messages, which is built into the app. The GMSA does say it’s working to bring interoperable end-to-end encryption to its RCS Universal Profile, so iPhone users could have it in the future.
However, Apple could have added end-to-end encryption to its RCS implementation if it really wanted to. For a company that prides itself on privacy and security in its marketing, it’s a bit of an odd choice to finally adopt RCS but leave encryption in the dustbin. It’s nice that iPhone users can enjoy RCS chats with Android users now, but it seems Apple is still laser focused on users sticking to iMessage.
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