iPhone and Android Users Can Finally Send Each Other Encrypted Messages. Here Is What Changed

[lingriiddd]

After years of clunky cross-platform communication, end-to-end encrypted messaging between iPhone and Android users is beginning to roll out in beta today for devices running the most up-to-date software. The development closes one of the most glaring gaps in consumer privacy: iMessage has been encrypted since 2011, Android users have been able to message each other via end-to-end encryption since 2021, but messages sent between the two platforms could not be encrypted at all — meaning they were potentially visible to hackers, governments, or the companies handling the transmission. A lock icon will appear in conversations where encryption is active, though the beta rollout means not all users will have access immediately.The underlying technology making this possible is RCS, the industry-standard texting protocol that brings typing indicators, read receipts, emoji reactions, higher-quality media sharing, and encryption to standard text messaging.

Apple resisted supporting RCS for years despite pressure from Google and regulators, finally caving in 2023 under regulatory scrutiny from the EU and China. The green bubble problem — the cultural shorthand for the inferior experience iPhone users had when texting Android contacts — was a genuine friction point that broke group chats and degraded media quality for years. End-to-end encrypted RCS does not fully erase the distinction between iMessage and cross-platform messaging, but it closes the most consequential gap: the privacy one.

[mendez]

google campaigned for years and got ignored, EU said comply and apple said yes immediately

[mendez]

noted and got it lol