It was nearly a year ago that the GSM Association published the RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which, among other things, includes an end-to-end encryption (E2EE) standard for messages. The previous E2EE implementation was a Google-specific thing, which is why Apple didn’t support it when it adopted RCS with iOS 18.
Now that there is an industry standard, Apple is working to implement it – this will finally enable encrypted messaging between Android and Apple devices. Well, Apple is not pushing itself too hard – again, it’s been almost a year – but signs of support have been discovered in iOS 26.3 Beta 2.
It’s not clear if the software actually supports E2EE messages yet. What was discovered was part of the UI that will show the encryption status to the user and allow them to change the settings.
E2EE could arrive with the stable iOS 26.3 or it might be delayed until iOS 27. Apple has not made any official statements regarding the timeline for implementing Version 3.0.
Note that the encryption protects not just text messages but also files (be they photos, videos or other) that you send over RCS. This works for group chats as well.
Even better, the new RCS Universal Profile 3.0 brings more than just encryption. New features include inline replies, editing and un-sending messages (within a limited time frame) and proper Tapback support (i.e. emoji reactions, which currently work but it’s a bodge job).
P.S. The GSM Association has already published the Universal Profile 3.1 specs. New additions include support for a better audio codec (xHE-AAC), spam reporting, improved file transfer security and better reliability on a spotty connection.