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End-to-End Encryption Coming for iPhone-to-Android RCS Messages
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And social security numbers. And pennies. And Daylight Savings Time.
Taking bets on which if any will ever happen.
Well, that’s the rub. RCS remains a carrier service that uses the cellular data channel instead of the voice channel like SMS and MMS do. The Apple Discussion Communities are seeing users complaining about their iPhones not having the option to turn on RCS, only to find out their carrier either doesn't support it yet or needs to push configuration files. There are complaints about sending texts to an Android user and those texts are still sent using SMS. Then they are informed that not all Android phones have the feature or that the Android user’s carrier doesn't support RCS.
RCS was greatly hyped and Apple was bludgeoned over not supporting it. People assumed (not a good idea when it comes to tech) that RCS was universally deployed already and Apple was finally giving in. Well, iOS 18 now supports RCS and users are finding out RCS is not universally deployed yet. Not all carriers and not all Android versions support it yet either.
As far as I know, the only one who actually required them to implement it was China. And they did not have encryption as part of their requirements.
If it were up to the powers and corporations in America, it probably would never have happened. Unless I missed something?
Pick your poison. We've been over and over this. Do you want your platform controlled by Meta, or by a cartel of phone network operators? One way or another, some big evil unaccountable group is going to control your messaging platform.
Yes and what's worse, Google is also effectively a gatekeeper for many. RCS only works on Google Messages. Use Textra or anything else and it just doesn't do it, apparently because it's a private API and Google doesn't let anyone use it.
And on their own Google Fi MVNO they have failed to provide Apple with the carrier bundle to enable RCS, so it still doesn't work on iPhone.
Because key exchange is hard and requires a central (or at least confederation of) authority, and creates problems for lawful interception.
Also because the network operators had no financial incentive to do RCS at all, and even less to do anything that made it more expensive.
And many others too, that don't belong to Facebook/Meta, what collects your data, like the contacts on your phone.
I already switched to Threema when the overtaking was announced 2012 or 2013 and now going further with Session and Matrix Clients.
I've blocked a subset of my friends who use Android until this is implemented.
RCS also works with the Samsung Messages app. I’ve used it with Samsung users and it works.
From what I've heard, the Samsung Messages app is deprecated and will be/has been replaced by Google Messages.
Google Messages remains the de facto single RCS client for Android. They've just managed to create yet another messaging debacle.
I was looking in to this as recently as yesterday. I'd love a link to any other SMS client that supports it, but I know as recently as Monday Textra said they can't do it because Google won't let them. I don't even see Samsung Messages on the Play Store. Maybe it's only on their own app store. And from what I was reading, they were running their own RCS support which has now been discontinued.
From a high horse, looking down his nose.
Profile picture checks out.
Samsung started making google messages the default app on their devices a few years ago and are recently phasing out Samsung messages entirely. Google took their approach with google messages because they couldn't get carriers to interoperate their RCS server protocals with each other and it's implementation was dragging on. So they implemented their own servers and bypassed carriers.
With the app now the default on any recently sold android phone from the last few years this isn't much of an issue unless people don't like the app. I'm hoping with Apple's involvement now with the RCS standard and carriers, more third party apps like Textra will be able to implement the services now and not be gate kept by Google on Android.
Here in the US, all 3 major carriers have support for RCS out of the gate and all but one of their prepaid brands, Mint Mobile being the exception right now. Only independent MVNO's are lagging behind right now for the most part in the US. So it's not that bleak of a picture everywhere.
Thank you. I have a Verizon business line and I didn't understand why the other user on it wasn't supporting RCS on his Samsung phone. I found out it's because he's using Textra. Was only vaguely aware of what Google Messages is, and had not even heard of RCS. But he ain't switching from Textra for it. So here we are again with another Google only messaging application.
Completely irrelevant in Europe.
Here it's whatsapp town.
All the people I know with an iPhone NEVER used iMessage once.
I wish people would just drop this damn app, so that I could as well...
Oddly enough everyone loved Telegram here...they're in for a cold shower soon enough 🤣
Here it's whatsapp town.
All the people I know with an iPhone NEVER used iMessage once.
I wish people would just drop this damn app, so that I could as well...
Oddly enough everyone loved Telegram here...they're in for a cold shower soon enough 🤣
My cell number has been attached to me for 25 years. Of the two email addresses I would have used 25 years ago one the provider is long gone and with it the address and the other isnt one I typically use today.
But all of that even isnt actually relevant. The reason places use phone numbers as verification of you being a human is they’re a little more restricted and tracked and tied to individuals than email as well as being slightly easier to reach you at, it’s a slight extra barrier against fraud and abuse. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but it’s slightly better than email.
Worth pointing out too that nearly everyone has a cell basically attached to their hip, while frequent email use is actually somewhat generational (genz and gen alpha are less likely to use email than older gens when they can avoid it for ex)
I know lots of people who have used iMessage more than once.
Also I'm not using WhatsApp and everything is fine. I can cope with the FOMO. Sad that some groups are only in WA but I can live my life without those.
People reach me by SMS, phone and email when they actually want to contact me. No problemos.
That’ll be it for iMessage. Question is will Apple hold off from adding this out of spite because it competes with iMessage E2EE? They certainly drag their feet when a bullet point on a keynote is threatened. I’ll go on to say iMessage makes messaging globally worse because the rest of the world doesn’t want or need sms or any replacement for it. It’s and incredibly America-centric line of thinking that iMessage should be protected or encouraged.
I think the vice versa. Phone numbers are heavy identity because people don't change the numbers, at least here in Finland.
Also in Finland we made big mistake by making bank account indentification the most used identification to.. basically all services that need it. Millions on euros have vanished because of scams where the access to bank account has been spoofed by asking bank identification / payment confirmation.
