iOS 26.4 Beta Adds End-to-End Encryption for iPhone-to-Android RCS Texts

Source: MacRumors

Overview

With the second iOS 26.4 beta, Apple and Google have begun testing end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages exchanged between iPhone and Android users. In the first beta, E2EE for RCS was limited to iPhone‑to‑iPhone communications with iMessage turned off. In beta 2, iPhone users can send encrypted messages to Android users.

Requirements

• iPhone: Install the second beta of iOS 26.4.
• Android: Use the latest version of Google Messages.

Release Notes

According to Apple’s developer release notes for beta 2:

• E2EE for RCS is still in testing and will not ship in iOS 26.4.
• The feature will be rolled out in future releases of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS 26.
• Encryption is in beta and is not available for all devices or carriers.
• Conversations labeled as “encrypted” are end‑to‑end encrypted, meaning the messages cannot be read while in transit between devices.

Background

• Apple collaborated with the GSM Association to implement E2EE for RCS.
• iMessage, Apple’s native messaging service, has long supported end‑to‑end encryption for iPhone‑to‑iPhone texts.
• Android’s RCS implementation already provides E2EE for Android‑to‑Android messages, but full encryption for iPhone‑to‑Android and Android‑to‑iPhone conversations is not yet available.

This article first appeared on MacRumors.com.