Apple Will Fully Encrypt RCS Messages Between Androids and iPhones

It’s been less than a year since iPhones were granted the ability to send messages to Green Bubbles unfettered, and only now is proper end-to-end encryption making an appearance. Better late than never. The GSM Association announced new specifications for RCS, requiring it to be end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) based on a protocol called the Messaging Layer Security (MLS). The organization laid out the plan in a press release, citing the need to provide users with “the highest level of privacy and security.” The new specifications will use RCS Universal Profile 3.0, a cross-platform encryption protocol that will make it easier for iPhones and Android devices to identify each other. The profile allows for richer deep linking, better audio codec for voice messaging between parties, and ease of unsubscribing from a subscription text thread. The protocol will continue to support the rest of the high-resolution messaging capabilities introduced in the initial rollout of the RCS protocol, includ ... Read full article.