iOS 26.5 brings E2EE for RCS: A new milestone for secure cross‑platform messaging (opens in new tab)

By Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA Today marks an important step forward for mobile users as the latest software update from Apple – iOS 26.5 – brings end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE) to Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging. This additional security is now beginning to roll out for conversations between iPhone users running iOS 26.5 and Android devices running on the latest version of Google Messages. This welcome progress is the result of close, cross‑industry collaboration ...