- Apple previously confirmed plans to add end-to-end encryption to RCS messages in a future software update
- We’ve now spotted code that suggests end-to-end encryption could be coming to RCS messages on iPhones as early as iOS 26.
- Code suggests that Apple will be using the MLS protocol introduced by GSMA’s Universal Profile 3.0, which was developed with Apple’s involvement.
After years of holding out, Apple finally allowed iPhone users to take advantage of RCS texting with the release of iOS 18, letting them seamlessly text Android users. While RCS brings major features to Android-iOS conversations, such as high-quality media, text reactions, richer group chats, and more, it lacks one key feature: End-to-end encryption. Apple confirmed that end-to-end encryption is coming to RCS on iPhones in “future software updates.” We’ve now found that it could be as soon as iOS 26.
When GSMA announced the new Universal Profile 3.0 specifications in March, they mentioned including end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. GSMA said this will make RCS the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between different client implementations.