The latest iPhone update, iOS 26.5, has just been released. The headline feature is the introduction of default end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for messages exchanged between iPhones and Android phones for the first time. Here is exactly how it works and how to know when your text conversations are fully protected.
E2EE RCS Messaging In Beta
End-to-end encrypted messaging applies to messages coming from, or going to, Android phones in the RCS (Rich Communication Services) protocol. When RCS messages are end-to-end encrypted, they can’t be read while they’re sent between devices.
This is new and comes about because iOS 26.5 includes RCS 3.0 for the first time. “Apple and Google have led a cross-industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to Rich Communication Services (RCS), making the cross-platform messaging format that replaces traditional SMS more secure and private,” Apple said in a Newsroom post.
Four Things To Note
First, messages sent between iPhones — the ones which show up as blue bubbles, not green — are automatically encrypted.
Second, the new messaging is still in beta, and only works if your carrier and the other party’s carrier support it, which may not happen immediately.
Third, you need to be on iOS 26.5 for E2EE to work on cross-platform messaging. Android users need to be on the latest version of Google Messages.
And fourth, E2EE is on by default, so you don’t need to switch it on. However, you can verify or toggle the setting by navigating to Settings > Messages > RCS Messaging.
How Can You Tell If A Conversation Is Encrypted?
Apple could have chosen to turn such conversations into blue bubbles instead of green. It hasn’t, and instead there’s a message at the top of the message chain which reads “Text Message RCS” with a picture of a padlock and the word “Encrypted,” which is what to look out for.
Other Benefits
The new software also means that there’s Tapback support for emoji now available cross-platform and the capability to reply to messages inline in a conversation. There are also improvements when it comes to editing and deleting messages.
