Soon the cross -platform counted messaging between iPhone and Android will arrive, thanks to updated rich communication services (RCS) standards. The GSM Association has announced that the latest RCS specifications now include end -to -end encryption based on the safety protocol of the messaging layer. This advance, initially caused in September, will finally allow safe and encrypted messages between different mobile platforms.
This is a great privacy victory: end -to -end encryption (E2EE) means that no one else can see their messages, not even your cell operator or companies that make messaging applications. According to the GSMA, they developed this new RCS standard by taking everyone to the table: mobile operators, manufacturers of devices and technological companies, including Apple.
GSMA's technical director, Tom Van Pelt, wrote at the site of his organization that, “… RCS will be the first large -scale messaging service to admit interoperable E2EE among customer implementations of different suppliers.
Apple's commitment to multiplatform security
According to Apple spokesman, Shane Bauer, in a declaration at 9to5 Mac, end -to -end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that Imessage has supported from the beginning. Bauer added: “… We are pleased to have helped lead an effort of the cross industry to contribute end -to -end encryption to the RCS universal profile published by GSMA.
Google's commitment to secure messages
Google spokesman Ed Fernández, told The Verge that “Google users have had encrypted RCS messages (E2EE) end to end for years.
The end of fragmented messaging security
Apple implemented RCS support for iPhones with the iOS 18 update in September. Although Imessage has had an end -to -end encryption for the ages, this security function was not transmitted to the RCS messages because the previous standard simply could not handle the multiplatform encryption.
On the Android side, Google's messages offered end -to -end encryption for RCS texts, but only when they chatted with other Google messages messages; Conversations with iPhone users or people who use different Android messaging applications were not protected. The new standard should finally fix this fragmented situation.
There has been no specific timeline for when we will see this function, but when it finally arrives, it will undoubtedly be a great privacy update.
