RCS Messaging in iOS 18: What iPhone Users Need to Know

[Reverend Benny]

So 10,000 people at google can read my post, but you're worried about another 10 or so while my message hops through the internet. Not sure that matters except to the uninformed.

It does, SMS is considered to be unsafe and are being used widely. There personal information, MFA/2FA, activation codes, ticket info etc all being sent in clear text. Sure, not saying Google are the good guys and aren't harvesting information about you as a user, but they are less likely to be the ones wanting to hack into your account.

Also it seems like RCS are end to end ecrypted, there are some rumors that it won't be on iOS which is something that's interesting to follow up on if it will be.

But, while RCS is more secure in some aspects compared to SMS (in terms of encryption) the feature set makes the attack surface much bigger.

 

[Jon N.]

Hopefully. The article itself mentions that RCS is a less secure than iMessage, and that it relies on carrier implementation and Google. Users should have a visual cue that they're messaging within a less secure environment than iMessage, and the green bubbles do that, although I'm not opposed to three colors. Blue for secure iMessage, Green for cleartext SMS, Red or orange or something for RCS. Just so users are immediately aware of what level of protection their messages have.

RCS is unencrypted on iPhone because Apple refused to implement encryption. RCS is encrypted on Android devices, and I find it difficult to believe that Apple -- a trillion dollar company whose market capitalization is the same size as the GDP of the United Kingdom -- couldn't scrounge together the resources to make it happen.

 

[Jon N.]

I'd rather Apple let me customize the chat colors as I wish.

Android phones can do that for RCS messages. And I agree that I'd rather Apple allow customization of colors. But Apple needs the green-bubble stigma to stay so that they can gouge their users and bleed them for more money.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

RCS is unencrypted on iPhone because Apple refused to implement encryption. RCS is encrypted on Android devices, and I find it difficult to believe that Apple -- a trillion dollar company whose market capitalization is the same size as the GDP of the United Kingdom -- couldn't scrounge together the resources to make it happen.

Android RCS is encrypted because Google added encryption between Android devices. Apple is following the GSMA RCS specs, which at the moment, doesn't have encryption.

Apple has said they are working on having it added to the official spec.

 

[AbSoluTc]

For us non-US users, this means nothing since very few people uses SMS, iMessage or the RCS standard at all.

Yes yes, we know. You use whatsapp. Fully aware outside the USA - it's that app. Since this is a domestic website, it reports all info. Take it or leave it

 

[Jon N.]

Android RCS is encrypted because Google added encryption between Android devices. Apple is following the GSMA RCS specs, which at the moment, doesn't have encryption.

Apple has said they are working on having it added to the official spec.

Yes, exactly. Given the rivalry between Apple and Google, I wouldn't expect Apple to use Google's encryption for RCS. But Apple is a trillion-dollar company. They have immense resources at their disposal and they could have implemented E2EE if they wanted to. They chose not to, for a reason: They need iPhone users to feel superior. It's the same reason they refuse to release iMessage for Android devices.

I agree that the RCS standard should include E2EE, but Apple has, for years, refused to even engage with GSMA on the development of the standard. If they had, encryption would probably already be part of the protocol. And I doubt that they're particularly interested in doing it even now, because there is nothing in it for them; it would only serve to make iMessage less attractive.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Haven’t used iMessage in years as everyone uses a cross platform app anyway as groups of people tend to be cross platform.
is change for the sake of appeasing people that unable to work with existing cross platform apps for some reason.

Appeasing Americans, primarily. The rest of the world knew WhatsApp before it was bought by Meta.

 

[cocky jeremy]

It's a big deal apparently in the US.
A big chunk of American people discriminate users that have green bubbles in a conversation (vs the blue ones in the iPhone).
It's funny because a Samsung Fold costing around 2k would have green bubbles, vs an iPhone 6S that it's valued around 200 bucks.

Some article that comments even bullying because of this:

Apple Is Doing Its Part to End Green Bubble Shaming. It’s Our Turn. (Published 2023)

While texting technology will soon get better, the “blue versus green bubble” disparity is far from over.

www.nytimes.com

I'd rather have the iPhone 6S.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Not all of us are anti-social.

You should try it. It's great.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I fear they‘ll drag their feet. Apple chose to implement UP 2.4, which is multiple years old, instead of the most recent 2.6 (at the time of them starting work on RCS).

2.4 is coincidentally the bare minimum one has to support for 5G certification in China. That sounds totally like something Apple would do to keep an edge on RCS with their own chat ecosystem.

Yup, if China wants it, it’ll get added. If China DOESN’T want it, probably not.

 

[nottorp]

I have one question about this RCS thing: does it require the phone provider's cooperation?

Do the americans want to bring us back to paying per message in the name of having the right coloured bubbles?

Yes yes, we know. You use whatsapp. Fully aware outside the USA - it's that app. Since this is a domestic website, it reports all info. Take it or leave it

And you think the likes of Verizon or Sprint or whatever sells you cell phone service in the US isn't spying on you and selling anything you send via SMS?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Will RCS be enabled by default or will it be opt-in - do we know yet?

I’m guessing they’ll match whatever the SMS setting is… because for millions of people around the world, accidentally sending an RCS message will cost them.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Ok, my bad, I was sure it was E2EE, but its like many explained (thx @Jon N. @WarmWinterHat), only on Android devices.
But it seems like RCS messages are encrypted when in transit. At least that's something that might stop MITM attacks.

 

[Jon N.]

I have one question about this RCS thing: does it require the phone provider's cooperation?

Do the americans want to bring us back to paying per message in the name of having the right coloured bubbles?

My understanding is that Google's RCS implementation goes around the carriers, so if all users on the chat are using Google's messaging app then it doesn't require the carrier's cooperation.

However, Apple is doing the absolute bare minimum required for RCS. So they're punting that responsibility to the carriers. In the U.S., the major carriers are already using Google's RCS implementation, but the MVNO's (smaller companies that piggy-back off of the major carriers) are left to either build out their own RCS infrastructure, and many of them won't because it's expensive.

Again, this is just my understanding. If I am wrong, someone please correct me with references.

 

[diego.caraballo]

No they don't; a big chunk of high-schoolers, perhaps. 99.9% of adults, in the US, don't give a crap.

That said, my daughter (in high school) and the majority of her friends use Snapchat.

Unfortunately, considering what I have read is far more spread than high-schoolers.
There are a lot of articles discussing the same impact in dating life.

'Green bubble shaming' at play in DOJ suit against Apple

Android users have long complained that texting someone with an iPhone on iMessage is an unpleasant experience. The Justice Department argues it is also an example of anti-competitive behavior.

www.npr.org

Why Apple’s iMessage Is Winning: Teens Dread the Green Text Bubble

The iPhone maker cultivated iMessage as a must-have blue-bubble texting tool for teens. Android users trigger a just-a-little-less-cool green bubble: “Ew, that’s gross.”

www.wsj.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/datingoverthirty/comments/b6w9iu

Green ‘bubble-shaming’ can lead to school alienation, missed romances

Apple will make changes early next year to improve texting. It may be time for iPhone users to stop shaming green-bubble texters (aka Android owners).

www.kcrw.com

 

[nottorp]

My understanding is that Google's RCS implementation goes around the carriers, so if all users on the chat are using Google's messaging app then it doesn't require the carrier's cooperation.

Ah... different coloured bubbles redux. And that advertising company as gatekeeper.

However, Apple is doing the absolute bare minimum required for RCS. So they're punting that responsibility to the carriers. In the U.S., the major carriers are already using Google's RCS implementation, but the MVNO's (smaller companies that piggy-back off of the major carriers) are left to either build out their own RCS infrastructure, and many of them won't because it's expensive.

Again, this is just my understanding. If I am wrong, someone please correct me with references.

Well, if the carrier is involved I'll be turning mine off. I don't want to go back to that.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Unfortunately, considering what I have read is far more spread than high-schoolers.
There are a lot of articles discussing the same impact in dating life.

Ffs, is this real? People not wanting to date someone with the wrong colour on the chat-bubble?
And if it is... Maybe this can be sold as a feature. Stop people from maybe marrying an idiot on an early stage.

 

[Jon N.]

Ah... different coloured bubbles redux. And that advertising company as gatekeeper.

That's just Google's implementation, which is also end-to-end encrypted. But if you don't trust Google, that's fair. I don't either. But I also don't trust Apple (or Microsoft, or Amazon, or any other company). Anyone who thinks that any of those companies are concerned with their users' privacy is playing the fool.

As for your desire to not involve the carriers, aren't you already doing that? If you're on iPhone and are sending messages to Android users, you're using SMS or MMS messages, and that involves the carriers whether you turn on RCS or not.

 

[Jon N.]

Ffs, is this real? People not wanting to date someone with the wrong colour on the chat-bubble?
And if it is... Maybe this can be sold as a feature. Stop people from maybe marrying an idiot on an early stage.

Yes, it's a real thing.

And it's not just among young people looking for dates. My cousin (late 50s) and my nephew (late 30s) have tried to green-bubble shame me. It's quite pervasive in the U.S. because most American consumers are sheep and are obsessed with brand image.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I won't use RCS because it facilitates communication with Android comments in 3.2.1.

You forgot the "Everyone in my country uses WhatsApp so RCS is pointless" comments in 3.2.1. (As if what happens in your country = world)

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Unfortunately, considering what I have read is far more spread than high-schoolers.
There are a lot of articles discussing the same impact in dating life.

'Green bubble shaming' at play in DOJ suit against Apple

Android users have long complained that texting someone with an iPhone on iMessage is an unpleasant experience. The Justice Department argues it is also an example of anti-competitive behavior.

www.npr.org

View attachment 2395680

Why Apple’s iMessage Is Winning: Teens Dread the Green Text Bubble

The iPhone maker cultivated iMessage as a must-have blue-bubble texting tool for teens. Android users trigger a just-a-little-less-cool green bubble: “Ew, that’s gross.”

www.wsj.com

View attachment 2395681

https://www.reddit.com/r/datingoverthirty/comments/b6w9iu

View attachment 2395682

Green ‘bubble-shaming’ can lead to school alienation, missed romances

Apple will make changes early next year to improve texting. It may be time for iPhone users to stop shaming green-bubble texters (aka Android owners).

www.kcrw.com

View attachment 2395683

I've been using iMessage since it was released, and due to the nature of my job, I message dozens of new people a month. I've met one single person that has cared.

The blue/green bubble thing was always overblown by the media. I just don't buy it..

 

[brofkand]

My understanding is that Google's RCS implementation goes around the carriers, so if all users on the chat are using Google's messaging app then it doesn't require the carrier's cooperation.

However, Apple is doing the absolute bare minimum required for RCS. So they're punting that responsibility to the carriers. In the U.S., the major carriers are already using Google's RCS implementation, but the MVNO's (smaller companies that piggy-back off of the major carriers) are left to either build out their own RCS infrastructure, and many of them won't because it's expensive.

Again, this is just my understanding. If I am wrong, someone please correct me with references.

Apple isn't necessarily doing the bare minimum, they're just supporting the actual RCS standard called the Universal Profile. Google has proprietary extensions to the RCS standard that Apple is not supporting. Rather, Apple says they plan to work with the GSMA and Google to roll Google's extensions into the RCS standard. We will see if that ends up happening.

 

[Stromos]

I sincerely doubt that Apple will ever allow blue bubbles with non-Apple devices, unless they're forced to by some regulatory agency. They need those blue bubbles to make their users feel superior. This is why Apple refuses to release the iMessage app for Android: The purpose of the blue bubble color is mainly for iPhone users' ego and for Apple's balance sheet.

And Apple could have implemented end-to-end encryption in their RCS implementation if they wanted to. They chose not to because, again, they need their users to feel superior to everyone else.

Or stay with me here. They didn’t want to pull a Google and do encryption that’s proprietary and holds them responsible. They are working with the standard (that Google ignored) to try to make RCS better for everyone.

 

[brofkand]

I've been using iMessage since it was released, and due to the nature of my job, I message dozens of new people a month. I've met one single person that has cared.

The blue/green bubble thing was always overblown by the media.

It's apparently a bigger deal with kids, but I think most kids these days use things like Snapchat, Discord, or Whatsapp anyway so even then it's not a big deal.

 

[Stromos]

Where have you read that RCS isn't or won't be encrypted on iOS devices? Everywhere I read its says that its end to end when both sender and receiver has it enabled.

That’s Googles implementation where they ignored the RCS standard. Apple didn’t ignore the standard and is working to make the standard better instead of just doing whatever and further fragmenting the RCS ecosystem.