Apple begins rolling out encrypted messaging for Android users

On Monday, end-to-end encrypted messaging is starting to roll out in beta for conversations between iPhone and Android users running the most up-to-date software. The release introduces a critical security standard to cross-platform communications. When these messages are sent between devices, they are encrypted while in transit, making it near impossible for anyone else to intercept and read the message. This end-to-end encrypted messaging is an important privacy feature that makes users far less susceptible to surveillance by hackers, governments, or the companies that make these communication platforms.

The update represents a major shift in Apple’s long-term messaging strategy. Apple had refused to support Rich Communication Services (RCS)—an industry-standard texting protocol—since 2020 due to regulatory pressure. Google had repeatedly urged Apple to support RCS texting to make communication between their devices more seamless. Apple eventually supported RCS in 2023. RCS serves as a more sophisticated upgrade to decades-old SMS texting, bringing modern features like typing indicators, read receipts, emoji reactions, longer message lengths, and encryption to standard text messages.

The lack of cross-platform encryption has been a long-standing gap in mobile security. Apple’s proprietary iMessage service has been encrypted since its launch in 2011, and Android users have been able to communicate among themselves with end-to-end encryption since 2021. However, messages sent between the two platforms remained unencrypted. Until Apple started supporting RCS, it was a common headache for iPhone users to get texts from their Android-using friends that would break group chats, or result in terrible quality multimedia sharing. This technical divide also reinforced the “green bubble stigma,” the social phenomenon regarding the color of message bubbles from Android users on iPhones. Apple’s long-awaited support of end-to-end encryption on RCS helps further close this gap, improving privacy and communication quality.

Because the feature is currently in beta, users may not have access to the encrypted cross-platform messaging just yet. Until this rollout, messages sent between iPhone and Android devices could not be end-to-end encrypted. If a conversation between Google and Apple devices is encrypted, the users will see a lock icon that indicates that the chat is protected.

Why it matters

Apple’s support of end-to-end encryption on RCS helps close the gap between green and blue bubbles, improving privacy and communication quality between iPhone and Android users.