Rich Communication Services (RCS), a cross-platform messaging standard that replaces traditional SMS, is now more secure and private thanks to a cross-industry effort spearheaded by Google and Apple to add end-to-end encryption.
Although end-to-end encrypted texting between Android devices has been available with Google Messages for years, we knew we couldn’t stop there.
End-to-end encrypted RCS texting will start to roll out in beta today for Android users using the most recent version of Google Messages and iPhone users running iOS 26.5 with certain carriers. It prevents RCS messages from being read during transmission between devices.
When Google Messages users see the same lock icon that was previously used in RCS chats, they may be certain that a cross-platform discussion is end-to-end encrypted. For both new and ongoing RCS discussions, encryption is turned on by default and will eventually be turned on automatically.
iMessage has always been end-to-end encrypted and was designed with privacy in mind. It is still the most effective method of inter-Apple device communication.
