Text messages sent between iPhone and Android devices will benefit from end-to-end encryption (E2EE) after GSM Association (GSMA) released a new specification for the Rich Communications Services (RCS) protocol, which includes support for Cross-Platform E2EE.
RCS is a long-standing effort to enable SMS-style cross-platform communication with more rich features such as Group messaging, typing indicators, receipt reading, file sharing, and more.
Many Android handset manufacturers have adopted RCS for many years, but Apple was a major outlier until last year when it finally succumbed to iOS 18. Most of the core RCS features have since been available for cross-platform messaging, but E2EE has been missing up to now.
Sales Points
E2EE is a data encryption method that ensures that, if you are a beginner, only the sender can read the content. For tech companies, this privacy promise is a major selling point, as it ensures that users are safe from snooping. Apple has been offering E2EE since launching Imessage in 2011, and of course it only worked between iOS devices, but WhatsApp completed the E2EE rollout in 2016 (and again, it only worked between WhatsApp users).
Google previously added E2EE to its own messaging app, but this was its own unique business, separate from the RCS protocol itself.
Not only different clients, but also completely different platforms have their own challenges to encrypt messages. This will bring GSMA’s universal profile into the fight and provide a standardized specification of consistent, interoperable RCS messaging through devices, networks and operators.
Based on the Encrypted Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, the new E2EE mechanism in RCS Universal Profile 3.0 is ultimately a key part of the jigsaw that will enable iPhone and Android users to communicate securely through the device’s native messaging app.
“This means that RCS will become the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between client implementations from various providers,” GSMA technical director Tom Van Pelt said in a statement. “Along with other unique security features such as SIM-based authentication, E2EE provides RCS users with the highest level of privacy and security for strong protection from fraud, fraud and other security and privacy threats.”
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