In December 2024, the FBI and CISA jointly warned Americans to stop texting between iPhones and Android phones — because those messages were not encrypted. The backdrop was the Salt Typhoon cyberattack, in which Chinese state-affiliated hackers breached networks at major U.S. telecom carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Now, roughly 17 months later, Apple is closing that gap. iOS 26.5, expected in mid-May 2026, will be the first iPhone software update to include end-to-end encryption for RCS messages exchanged with Android users — though carrier support will determine who actually gets it from day one.
This has been a long time coming. Apple added RCS support in iOS 18, but encryption was missing. The GSMA published RCS Universal Profile 3.0 in March 2025, establishing end-to-end encryption via the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol as the new standard. Apple tested the feature in the iOS 26.4 beta but pulled it before that release. It returns — and ships — with iOS 26.5.
What’s Actually Changing — and What Isn’t
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End-to-end encryption (E2EE) means a message is locked on your device and can only be unlocked on the recipient’s device. Nobody in between — not the carrier, not Apple, not any interceptor — can read it in transit. Before iOS 26.5, an RCS message from an iPhone to an Android phone had no such protection.
Apple’s iOS 26.5 implements E2EE for RCS using the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, which is the foundation of GSMA’s RCS Universal Profile 3.0. This is the first standardised, interoperable encryption method for cross-platform messaging at this scale. The feature is on by default. You can confirm it at Settings → Messages → RCS Messaging, where you’ll see an “End-to-End Encryption (Beta)” toggle. When active, a lock icon appears in the Messages conversation header.
iMessage conversations between Apple users have been end-to-end encrypted since 2011 (iOS 5). SMS messages, the old green-bubble standard that predates RCS, have never had E2EE and still don’t. That hasn’t changed.
This is the core limitation. Apple’s release notes state: “End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging (beta) in Messages is available with supported carriers and will roll out over time.” Apple has said it will publish the list of supported carriers on its messaging page once iOS 26.5 ships — the list was not available at the time of the RC release on May 4, 2026.
For the encryption to work, both the sender’s carrier and the receiver’s carrier must support the updated RCS standard. If you’re on a carrier that has upgraded its RCS infrastructure and your Android contact is on one that hasn’t — or vice versa — the conversation will be unencrypted. The lock icon will simply not appear.
This is structurally different from how WhatsApp or Signal work. Those apps control their own encryption at the application layer — it never drops regardless of which network you’re on. RCS E2EE is a carrier-level feature, which makes rollout pace a genuine variable.
E2EE closes the biggest security gap, but it doesn’t make cross-platform RCS equivalent to iMessage. Several features still don’t work when an iPhone texts an Android phone:
Message unsending — iPhone users cannot unsend a message in a cross-platform RCS chat. Message editing — editing is currently only available from the Android side. Emoji reactions — currently limited to the iPhone side in cross-platform chats. Reply threading — replying to a specific message inline doesn’t yet work cross-platform on iPhone.
These missing features are part of the broader GSMA RCS roadmap and are expected in future profile updates. The RCS Universal Profile 3.0 also introduces cross-platform Tapback support and inline replies — but full adoption depends on both Apple and Google updating their clients and carriers updating their infrastructure.
SMS — the oldest text protocol, used when RCS isn’t available — still has no encryption of any kind. That hasn’t changed.
See the Difference: iPhone ↔ Android
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iOS 26.5 at a Glance
Three confirmed additions — plus what’s still arriving later
iOS 26.5 was covered here with a focus on its three confirmed additions — end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging (in beta), Suggested Places in Apple Maps, and the Pride Luminance wallpaper — alongside the App Store subscription changes and Reminders snooze updates. The broader Apple hardware and software story continues ahead of WWDC 2026 on June 8, where iOS 27 is set to be announced. The E2EE RCS feature, first tested in iOS 26.4 and confirmed in the iOS 26.5 Release Candidate, was described in Apple’s release notes as available “with supported carriers” and rolling out “over time.” The Salt Typhoon context and carrier dependency noted in this piece were covered as factual background to the update.
For readers interested in related Apple and Google device updates, the iOS 26.5 public release is expected in mid-May 2026. The wider technology landscape surrounding this update was also part of the reporting context.
