• Posted by: Michael Johnson
• September 18, 2024

GSMA Works to Implement End-to-End Encryption for RCS Across Android and iOS

The GSM Association (GSMA), the governing body responsible for the development of the Rich Communications Services (RCS) protocol, announced that it is taking steps to implement end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to secure messages sent between Android and iOS users.

Tom Van Pelt, Technical Director at GSMA, emphasized the significance of this move: "The next major milestone is for the RCS Universal Profile to add important user protections such as interoperable end-to-end encryption." He also noted that this initiative will address technical challenges such as key federation and cryptographically-enforced group membership, marking the first deployment of standardized, interoperable messaging encryption across different platforms.

This announcement comes shortly after Apple officially rolled out iOS 18, which now supports RCS in its Messages app. The update brings enhanced features like message reactions, typing indicators, read receipts, and high-quality media sharing. Despite RCS being a significant improvement over SMS, it is not yet encrypted by default. In response to this, Google integrated the Signal protocol into RCS on Android devices earlier this year to secure conversations.

Apple, whose iMessage service already offers end-to-end encryption, has agreed to work with GSMA members to integrate encryption into RCS. "We look forward to continuing to collaborate across the mobile ecosystem to advance the RCS standard with interoperable end-to-end encryption to keep all RCS messages private and secure," Van Pelt added.

In a parallel effort, Google announced in July that it plans to integrate the Message Layer Security (MLS) protocol into its Messages app for Android. This update aims to promote interoperability across messaging services and platforms, further advancing the secure messaging ecosystem.

Moreover, Meta is also working on enabling interoperability between WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and third-party messaging services to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), while ensuring the continuation of end-to-end encryption wherever possible. "Building third-party chats is technically challenging, and preserving privacy and security is a shared responsibility," Meta explained, adding that significant progress has been made, but more work remains.

These developments reflect the growing focus on enhancing the privacy and security of digital communications while ensuring that users can seamlessly communicate across platforms.