Summary
- Evidence suggests Google Messages will soon add Messaging Layer Security (MLS) support for end-to-end encryption.
- After Google pledged support for the standard last year, MLS is set to become the default security layer for encryption once fully implemented in Messages.
- Adoption outside of Google Messages remains to be seen, but MLS looks to unify encrypted messaging across platforms and services by implementing an encryption standard that all messaging apps can share.
Rich Communication Services, or RCS, is a messaging protocol designed to replace old-fashioned SMS and MMS. It enables encrypted communication between devices while offering other perks like read receipts, multimedia messaging, and typing indicators. RCS became Android’s primary texting platform in 2019, and Apple recently added support for it with iOS 18 in the latest beta build.
Google Messages is getting ready for Apple’s RCS support in group chats
Your MMS chats will automatically be upgraded to RCS
Even though RCS is an industry standard, the current feature set used by most RCS apps (Universal Profile 2.4) does not offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE) — instead, data is only encrypted during transit using TLS and IPsec by default. Google has worked around this issue in the past by including its own E2EE implementation in Google Messages, but with Apple adopting RCS and third-party Android SMS apps still hoping to add support, a standardized encryption protocol is still needed.
To help address this need, Google pledged its support for Messaging Layer Security (MLS) last year to give the nascent standard an early boost. MLS is an enhanced protocol developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It ensures that communication between apps and platforms is encrypted in one-on-one and group chats.
Now, code hunter Assemble Debug has delved into the Google Messages app and discovered strings and flags related to Messaging Layer Security (MLS), hinting at its imminent addition to the app (via Android Authority). The feature is still under development, and it remains to be seen how it will be integrated into Google Messages.
Google Messages readies support for Messaging Layer Security (MLS)
Importantly, the strings allude to Google’s intention to make MLS the default security layer for messaging. This is a vital step toward a future where multiple messaging apps share the same encryption standard, potentially paving the way for secure texting between services — if others follow suit in adopting MLS, of course. But at the very least, by making MLS the default, Google would position Messages as a leader in this movement towards an interoperable, yet still encrypted future.
Google’s adoption of MLS could also have some implications for Apple’s pending integration of RCS into its Messages app, home of iMessage. As it stands, the company’s implementation of RCS in iOS 18 Beta 2 does not support E2EE in group chats. While Google Messages supports E2EE in both group and solo chats, it does so using a proprietary extension to the RCS Universal Profile standard. It’s unlikely that Apple would implement this proprietary encryption in its Messages app, so an industry standard like MLS could bridge the gap.
RCS has been Google’s favorite communications project ever since it kicked the habit of creating a new messaging app for every possible use-case, and its investments seem to finally be paying off. With Apple joining the fold and a new encryption standard that could lower the barrier for entry for other companies to follow suit, the future is looking bright for RCS messaging after nearly a decade of Google throwing its weight behind the standard.
