{"id":120899,"date":"2026-05-05T21:38:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/its-happening-apples-ios-26-5-builds-rcs-encryption-with-android\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T21:39:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:39:55","slug":"its-happening-apples-ios-26-5-builds-rcs-encryption-with-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/its-happening-apples-ios-26-5-builds-rcs-encryption-with-android\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s happening: Apple&#8217;s iOS 26.5 builds RCS encryption with Android"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 id=\"what-you-need-to-know-3\">What you need to know<\/h2>\n<ul id=\"elk-f8c9f2f0-de0b-4322-ba5c-96659cf8be33\">\n<li>Encryption-focused update for RCS messaging between iPhone and Android has been detailed.<\/li>\n<li>Apple says the feature will arrive as soon as iOS 26.5 is released, which is speculated to arrive next week.<\/li>\n<li>The RCS standard never had E2EE protection, it was Google who decided this for messages; However, a GSMA update in 2025 announced that encryption was on the way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr id=\"elk-c3e472ba-3708-4756-9e6d-37e3d6f8b5af\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-6089c7ad-3209-4d40-8151-dc4fcdb462df\">It&#8217;s been a long time since we were all crazy about RCS, but an update brings those vibes back <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidcentral.com\/tag\/apple\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.androidcentral.com\/tag\/apple\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.androidcentral.com\/tag\/apple\">Apple is finally ready to fulfill its promise.<\/p>\n<p>This was highlighted earlier today (May 5) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/05\/04\/apple-highlights-3-enhancements-coming-to-iphone-with-ios-26-5\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/05\/04\/apple-highlights-3-enhancements-coming-to-iphone-with-ios-26-5\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\">9to5Mac<\/a>Apple is reportedly preparing to follow through on its promise to add encryption to users&#8217; messages with Android. The company posted the changelog for its iOS 26.5 RC build, which is the final test iteration of the software before it hits servers for everyone. In its notes, Apple says it will &#8220;introduce end-to-end encrypted RCS (beta) messaging.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-6089c7ad-3209-4d40-8151-dc4fcdb462df-2\">It says its RCS encryption will come online for &#8220;supported carriers.&#8221; The publication estimates that this update will begin rolling out sometime next week; However, Apple&#8217;s post suggests that its encryption will not be simultaneous. This support will be &#8220;rolled out over time,&#8221; meaning some users and carriers may see E2EE whenever it arrives, while others will have to wait a while.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-continues-below block py-2 text-sm\">Article continues below <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"inline-block w-2.5 h-2.5 ml-2\" fill=\"currentColor\" preserveaspectratio=\"xMidYMid meet\" viewbox=\"0 0 1000 1000\"><path d=\"M1000 100L500 900 0 100h1000z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-('') after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-(0.7rem) after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-(#ccc)&#10;            before:content-('') before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-(0.7rem) before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-(#ccc)&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-(length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)) uppercase sm:text-(length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)) font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            you may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>It would be nice if all iPhone users could get it at once, but to stop us, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2026\/05\/04\/encrypted-rcs-android-iphone\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2026\/05\/04\/encrypted-rcs-android-iphone\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\">9to5Google<\/a> Here&#8217;s what it might look like on those devices. The post says users will likely have to go into their Settings (<strong>Settings > Messages > RCS Messages<\/strong>) and make sure their end-to-end encryption toggle is active. Once complete, your chat will display a lock icon with &#8220;Encrypted&#8221; next to it. This is similar to the &#8220;RCS Chat with X&#8221; lock icon in Google Messages on Android.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"protected-3\">reserve<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-b4cd85ac-f2a5-42f2-a514-5a07a32c03bf\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:600px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.17%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/eh895559uK8oaXQY9drYsX-600-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/eh895559uK8oaXQY9drYsX-600-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/eh895559uK8oaXQY9drYsX-600-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/eh895559uK8oaXQY9drYsX-600-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/eh895559uK8oaXQY9drYsX-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/eh895559uK8oaXQY9drYsX-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Joe Maring\/Android Central)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-6de01209-4c9c-4711-9bb4-bfe85427ed6c\">It&#8217;s ridiculous to think that Apple&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidcentral.com\/apps-software\/rcs-iphone-launch-had-nothing-to-do-with-google\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.androidcentral.com\/apps-software\/rcs-iphone-launch-had-nothing-to-do-with-google\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.androidcentral.com\/apps-software\/rcs-iphone-launch-had-nothing-to-do-with-google\">iPhones get RCS support in iMessage in late 2024, but we&#8217;re getting encrypted texts right now. There&#8217;s actually a reason for this. In 2019, Google decided to offer end-to-end encryption to protect users&#8217; text messages in Messages. Apple&#8217;s adoption of such protections for users was a collaborative effort between several companies and the GSM Association.<\/p>\n<p>GSMA announced in 2025 that its update at that time (RCS Universal Profile 3.0) will support E2EE for users. Shortly thereafter Apple confirmed that it would &#8220;add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in a future software update.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr id=\"elk-04c75c47-6bc7-4188-bc32-042fbaea01e0\"\/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-c27caeda-00e6-4fda-b5a3-5e33ee8a7c27\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"android-central-s-take-3\">Android Central&#8217;s Tech<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-1ce9a27e-d002-49d3-90b9-14239f370ab0\">All I can say is that finally. It&#8217;s been a long journey, one that Google has been on tirelessly with its &#8220;Get Messages&#8221; campaign. This means that now, Android and iPhone users talking to each other in RCS-supported chats have strong encryption behind their texts. To protect and preserve them from prying eyes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-eJ7YsemL2h2CfJjG9bP4DJ\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-eJ7YsemL2h2CfJjG9bP4DJ slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Get the latest news from Android Central, your trusted partner in the world of Android<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What you need to know Encryption-focused update for RCS messaging between iPhone and Android has been detailed. Apple says the feature will arrive as soon as iOS 26.5 is released, which is speculated to arrive next week. The RCS standard never had E2EE protection, it was Google who decided this for messages; However, a GSMA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[1601,2266,8127,12937,4115,2251,23406],"class_list":["post-120899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-devotionals","tag-android","tag-apples","tag-builds","tag-encryption","tag-happening","tag-ios","tag-rcs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120901,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120899\/revisions\/120901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}