Apple officially released iOS 26.5 with support for end-to-end encryption in Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging, enabling secure cross-platform conversations between iPhone and Android users for the first time.
The E2EE RCS feature is enabled by default for both new and existing conversations, supported on iPhone devices with iOS 26.5 and Android phones running the latest Google Messages app. Users will see a lock icon in their RCS chats to confirm encryption is active.
“When RCS messages are end-to-end encrypted, they can’t be read while they’re sent between devices,” Apple said. The feature is the result of cross-industry collaboration through the GSMA RCS Working Group, including Apple, Google, and the wider mobile ecosystem.
The update also patches over 50 security vulnerabilities in iOS and iPadOS, including flaws in AppleJPEG, ImageIO, Kernel, mDNSResponder, and WebKit.
