Key Takeaways
- Samsung added a warning in the fine print to a press release that RCS chats between Android and iPhone devices are not end-to-end encrypted.
- Samsung’s press release was about the benefits of RCS and its ongoing work with Google to increase RCS adoption.
- It took two years for Apple to implement RCS into iMessage and the company has done the bare minimum with it.
It took seemingly forever, but we can finally hold RCS chats with our iPhone-smitten friends and family. Apple rolled out RCS support with iOS 18 in September. However, Samsung has a warning about it.
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A press note released by Samsung reminds us that RCS chats between Android and iPhone users are not end-to-end encrypted (via Android Authority). The warning was buried in the fine print of the release, which was touting the benefits of RCS. The fine print reads:
All members of a chat must have RCS enabled. Requires Google Messages for Android users and iOS 18 or later for iPhone users. Encryption is only available for Android-to-Android communication.
Apple just does not seem to care about RCS
The press note released by Samsung reiterates most of what we know about RCS. The high quality media sharing, group chats, message reactions, read receipts, and all the other stuff we’ve come to expect from the next-generation of cross-platform messaging. Samsung wanted to point out how it is working with Google to accelerate RCS adoption.
But it couldn’t resist from bluntly pointing out that RCS chats with iPhone users are not end-to-end encrypted, like they are with other Android users through Google Messages. This really is not that surprising, considering Apple has done the bare minimum to implement RCS into iMessage.
Google has spent the past two years pressuring Apple to adopt RCS. The company launched an ad campaign, produced multiple videos for YouTube, and took every opportunity it could to mention that iPhones did not have the modern messaging standard. Apple finally implemented RCS with iOS 18, released in September.
The wait for secure cross-platform messaging
Apple’s implementation of RCS is built on top of the RCS Universal Profile, which does not include end-to-end encryption. The only reason it exists with Google Messages is because Google built it into the app. The GSMA, the organization behind RCS, said it is working towards bringing interoperable end-to-end encryption to the Universal Profile so all platforms will have it by default.
Apple could build it in themselves. After all, the company prides itself on privacy, at least in its marketing. But it hasn’t, and likely won’t any time soon. So while it is great that iPhone users can finally enjoy RCS chats with their Android friends, the fact that these messages are not encrypted remains a significant drawback.
