Apple, Google Roll Out Encrypted RCS for 1 Billion Android-iPhone Chats in Beta
Updated
Updated · Tech Policy Press · May 20
Apple, Google Roll Out Encrypted RCS for 1 Billion Android-iPhone Chats in Beta
6 articles · Updated · Tech Policy Press · May 20
Apple has begun a beta rollout of end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging with Google, allowing iPhone and Android users to send protected cross-platform texts for the first time.
The change closes a long-standing gap where Apple-to-Android conversations fell back to SMS or unencrypted RCS, while iPhone-to-iPhone iMessage chats have had end-to-end encryption since 2011.
Google backed the GSMA standard adopted last year using Messaging Layer Security, but Apple said the feature works only on iPhones running the latest iOS and will appear with a lock icon.
Blue and green bubbles will remain because Apple still treats iMessage as its preferred Apple-to-Apple service, and RCS encryption is viewed as less secure than service-layer iMessage encryption.
The rollout follows DOJ antitrust scrutiny of Apple's messaging practices and marks a broader shift toward interoperable encrypted messaging that could lower switching costs for billions of users.
Will government surveillance mandates create a backdoor in the new encrypted messaging between iPhones and Androids?
Apple's 'green bubble' remains despite new security. Is this a genuine user upgrade or a reluctant concession to regulators?
With quantum computing threats looming, is the new RCS encryption truly future-proof for protecting our daily messages?
Cross-Platform Messaging Revolution: Encrypted RCS Rolls Out to 1.5 Billion iPhone and Android Users
Overview
In May 2026, Apple and Google, working with the GSMA, launched end-to-end encrypted Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging for both iPhone (iOS 26.5) and Android users. This rollout marks a major step in mobile privacy, as it ensures that only the sender and recipient can read message content, blocking access even from Google, Apple, and carriers. By supporting the GSMA RCS Universal Profile 3.0 and the Messaging Layer Security protocol, this update bridges the long-standing privacy gap in cross-platform messaging, bringing enhanced security to conversations between Android and iPhone users.