Android to iPhone Texts Finally Get a Major Security Upgrade

Android and iPhone users will finally be able to send end-to-end encrypted text messages to each other.

The feature started rolling out in beta on Monday for conversations between iPhone and Android users running the latest software.

Why It Matters

End-to-end encrypted messaging is an important security feature because it makes messages harder for hackers, governments, or platform companies to monitor.

When users send these messages between devices, the content stays encrypted while in transit. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone else to intercept and read the message.

Until now, messages sent between iPhone and Android devices could not use end-to-end encryption. Apple’s iMessage has supported encryption since its launch in 2011, while Android users have been able to use encrypted messaging with each other since 2021.

RCS Support

Communication between iPhone and Android users has long been limited. Android users cannot use Apple’s iMessage, while Apple resisted support for RCS messaging for years.

RCS is a newer texting standard that improves on older SMS texting. It supports typing indicators, read receipts, emoji reactions, longer messages, and encryption.

Apple did not support RCS until 2023, after facing regulatory pressure.

Green Bubble Gap

Google had pushed Apple to support RCS so messaging between Android and iPhone users would work more smoothly. The issue became widely known through the “green bubble” label, which refers to the color iPhone users see when receiving messages from Android users.

Before Apple added RCS support, iPhone users often received Android messages that could disrupt group chats or reduce multimedia sharing quality. Apple’s support for end-to-end encrypted RCS further reduces the gap between green and blue bubble messaging.

Beta Rollout

End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging has only started rolling out in beta, so not all users will have access immediately.

When a conversation between Google and Apple devices is encrypted, users will see a lock icon showing that the chat is protected.