On 24 September 2024, the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association) unveiled a plan to implement interoperable end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE) for Rich Communication Services (RCS) messages exchanged between Android and iOS devices. It delivers unified privacy protection for cross‑platform communications and represents a key milestone in RCS standardisation. This upgrade involves complex technical challenges including key federation and cryptographic group permission management, and will add critical user‑protection capabilities to the RCS universal profile.
The original native RCS standard does not include native end‑to‑end encryption. Google has previously implemented RCS message encryption on Android using the Signal protocol. Apple added RCS support to the Messages app in iOS 18 and stated its willingness to participate in co‑developing the encryption standard. Meanwhile Google intends to integrate the MLS (Messaging Layer Security) protocol into Android’s SMS application. To comply with the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), Meta is also working on interoperability rework for WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger while preserving end‑to‑end encryption capabilities as much as possible.
Multiple industry players jointly improve the RCS security framework. Besides safeguarding end‑user communication privacy, it establishes a more reliable underlying security foundation for RCS Business Messaging (RBM), namely RCS‑A2P commercial messaging services.
