Google is hoping to fill the one gap that needs to be filled so that iOS can better support RCS.
Yesterday’s release of iOS 18 brought support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) to the iPhone. This allows iPhone users to message Android users, at least those using RCS, and exchange high-quality videos and images, receive read receipts and see typing indicators. About the only thing that Apple’s support for RCS won’t include is end-to-end encryption. That’s because the version of RCS that Apple supports, the Universal Profile, does not include end-to-end-encryption as the version used by Google does.
The GSMA, which represents mobile network operators world-wide, says that the next step for the RCS Universal Profile is to add end-to-end encryption which would protect texts being sent cross-platform from iOS to Android and vice versa. As for Google, it says that it is working on a way to bring cross-platform E2EE (end-to-end encryption) to RCS chats ASAP.
