RCS 3.0 was formally unveiled by the GSMA, an affiliation representing cellular community operators. On the face of it, it’s pretty boring information. Nevertheless, this one is particular as a result of it’ll lastly repair RCS messaging between Android and iOS customers.
When Apple added RCS help to iOS 18, the corporate used an older model of the protocol. This triggered chat messages between iPhone and Android customers to be unencrypted. Thankfully, Apple has already agreed to replace to the most recent RCS protocol, thereby completely fixing the difficulty.
“Finish-to-end encryption is a robust privateness and safety know-how that iMessage has supported because the starting, and now we’re happy to have helped lead a cross business effort to convey end-to-end encryption to the RCS Common Profile revealed by the GSMA,” an Apple spokesperson instructed The Verge. “We’ll add help for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software program updates.”
Google additionally confirmed to The Verge that it might help the brand new customary, making it the primary time each Apple and Google did so on the identical time. Google mentioned it might work as shortly as doable to incorporate it with Android.
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The excellent news doesn’t cease there. RCS 3.0 additionally features a handful of different helpful privateness options. It’ll embrace end-to-end encryption (E2EE) primarily based on the Messaging Layer Safety (MLS) protocol. All these massive, fancy phrases imply that textual content messages, photos, and different file sorts will likely be encrypted earlier than sending it over the community and may solely be encrypted by the system receiving the message. Briefly, nobody will get to see what you despatched besides the individual receiving the message.
After all, you’ll want to make use of the right messaging apps. On this case, it might be Apple iMessage and Google Messages. Third celebration texting apps usually don’t help RCS in any respect proper now, though that will change sometime.
RCS 3.0 additionally consists of enhancements that make it simpler for folks to interact with companies and chatbots, a boon in an period the place companies and scammers alike are utilizing AI chatbots.
As a phrase of warning, the RCS protocol hasn’t left retailer cabinets but, metaphorically talking. At present, messages between Android and iOS customers stay unencrypted till each corporations can get it rolled out. There isn’t but a agency date for that rollout.
