iOS 26.5 Beta Continues RCS End-to-End Encryption Testing for iPhone and Android Messages

[Black_Mage]

Apple had the opportunity to make their messaging app more popular than Signal, Telegram, and Whatsapp. All they had to do is release it for Android. What a wasted opportunity.

 

[Chameleon94x]

The EU does so many useless things without a real reason, this is part of its war of principle against Apple

Apple deserves everything it gets. Yeah let's gatekeep basic functionality and try to force a monopoly on the smartphone market. Apple can kick rocks. They behave like spoiled teenagers holding people hostage. Basic functionality should work cross-platform. It's 2026 FFS.

 

[Chameleon94x]

It's looking more and more like the other RCS 2.7/3.0 features aren't going to be included. There is no reason for Apple to not turn these on. Direct replies, edits, and message deletion are already a function of iMessage and RCS on Android. It's RIGHT THERE in the spec! You can't claim to adopt "the RCS universal profile standard as written by the GSMA" and not implement mandatory features. However, it wouldn't surprise me, knowing Apple. Cuck your own userbase just to spite the other platform and act like you have exclusive features.

Someone should sue if Apple gets away with this. No one is leaving iPhone over being able to edit a text.

 

[PPGMD]

The numbers say that 20% of the USA is using WhatsApp, and the other two are sub 10%. That's a bit far from "everyone".

And most of the US users of those apps use it as a secondary method largely to communicate with those outside the USA and Canada. Like I use Whatsapp to largely to communicate with a couple of places in Mexico.

 

[dkh587]

It's looking more and more like the other RCS 2.7/3.0 features aren't going to be included. There is no reason for Apple to not turn these on. Direct replies, edits, and message deletion are already a function of iMessage and RCS on Android. It's RIGHT THERE in the spec! You can't claim to adopt "the RCS universal profile standard as written by the GSMA" and not implement mandatory features. However, it wouldn't surprise me, knowing Apple. Cuck your own userbase just to spite the other platform and act like you have exclusive features.

Someone should sue if Apple gets away with this. No one is leaving iPhone over being able to edit a text.

I’m suspecting this, too. Why wouldn’t they be testing out the other features?

The fact that we didn’t even get 2.7 is laughable.

but hey, we wouldn’t even have RCS if Apple wasn’t forced to implement it, so I’m sure they think they’re doing us a favor.

 

[bluecoast]

Instagram to remove end-to-end encryption for private messages in May

Meta’s announcement comes after years of criticism from child safety groups over feature

www.theguardian.com

I actually think WhatsApp is going to stop using end-to-end encryption soon, probably before 2027.

This may not matter to a lot of people but it matters to some of us at least. I use Signal as much as possible but unfortunately I can only it use it with a handful of people (less than 4). I do use iMessage for around 90% of my messaging, then WhatsApp for about 9% then Signal for the final 1% but I live in the U.S. also.

The reason I stated I see WhatsApp stopping end-to-end encryption soon is due to Meta, which owns Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, is going to stop using end-to-end encryption on May 8th in Instagram.

This makes me fully believe that Meta will then stop using end-to-end encryption in Messenger and then ultimately in WhatsApp because I don't see Zuckerberg or Meta allowing end-to-end encryption to stop in only the Instagram app. Meta will just use the same reasoning they use for Instagram for Messenger and WhatsApp. So many people are use to using these apps for messaging that it's something I believe Meta will get away with unfortunately. The majority of people are not going to freakout and move to Signal or other secure messaging apps, you're talking over a billion+ people that use these messaging apps combined.

Hope it doesn't happen but I can already see it coming and fast. So I fully believe that RCS end-to-end encryption is the best option for the majority of people but getting the average person to change is going to be a mountain to climb.

I think that you're totally right.

I'm putting my tinfoil hat on here, but there has to be some reason why Meta operates WhatsApp with barely any monetisation when it must cost them billions a year.

And no, I don't think that Meta are doing it to be nice.

So yeah, if they were able to get rid of e2ee - which many governments would be very happy if they did - and not lose many users, I bet that they would.

 

[numberfive]

"End-to-end encryption ensures that messages sent between devices cannot be intercepted and read by a third party." except for the apple inc. as a third party, which can read it at device itself, without the need to intercept anything.

 

[Tim Jobs the 2nd]

What a joke man

EDIT: I am obviously not talking about RCS here

So what were you talking about then?

For the few people that will ever use it. The rest of the world has moved on and use WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal.

That whole “Apple should add RCS to iPhones” shame campaign Google ran sure backfired on them.

Just cause you don't use it, doesn't mean that millions of others don't use it.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

So what were you talking about then?


Just cause you don't use it, doesn't mean that millions of others don't use it.

The lack of the new Siri and app intents.

 

[Al3c18]

Apple deserves everything it gets. Yeah let's gatekeep basic functionality and try to force a monopoly on the smartphone market. Apple can kick rocks. They behave like spoiled teenagers holding people hostage. Basic functionality should work cross-platform. It's 2026 FFS.

Exactly, it's 2026, Apple is not the only manufacturer in the world, if you don't like it and it doesn't suit you, go to something else, you're not forced to use Apple, so why force them to do things that often do nothing but put safety at risk?

After all, what does the EU know if their biggest stroke of genius of the last 20 years was the caps that do not come off the bottles.

 

[Chameleon94x]

Exactly, it's 2026, Apple is not the only manufacturer in the world, if you don't like it and it doesn't suit you, go to something else, you're not forced to use Apple, so why force them to do things that often do nothing but put safety at risk?

After all, what does the EU know if their biggest stroke of genius of the last 20 years was the caps that do not come off the bottles.

Bad argument. Literally half the iPhone users I come across act like MY phone is to blame when I text them and something doesn't work correctly. I can't edit a text because of Apple. Unless I am reading your comment incorrectly, forgive me there, I have a sleep disorder and am often fatigued.

But switching to another product doesn't fix this issue because not everyone I communicate with has an iPhone, and not everyone an android. So switching to iPhone or vise versa solves nothing.

 

[PPGMD]

Exactly, it's 2026, Apple is not the only manufacturer in the world, if you don't like it and it doesn't suit you, go to something else, you're not forced to use Apple, so why force them to do things that often do nothing but put safety at risk?

Because the issue is interoperability. Half the world is using Android, phones should be able to communicate with each other seamlessly.

What if you could never call a landline or a non-Apple phone with an iPhone?

 

[Chameleon94x]

For those who are unaware, Google runs RCS on behalf of many telcos as a service as part of their Jibe aquisition. Google also implemented E2EE as a bespoke feature of their server and their clients - and rejected access to third party clients. This means that the vast majority of RCS messages flow through Google infrastructure, and currently Apple can only support RCS messages being visible to Google.

Apple assisted in adding "real" E2EE support to RCS as part of Universal Profile 3.0. AFAICT, the reason this is being exposed for testing and held back for release is that neither Google nor telcos are ready yet.

Worth noting that Google pled with the GSMA for years to add E2EE directly to the spec. They wouldn't do it until Apple adopted RCS. This is why Google used the signal protocol for their own app version of RCS and end to encryption.

 

[dkh587]

Can anyone explain how it’s possible for them to be testing E2EE from RCS 3.0 but not have any of the other features active in the Beta?