On March 14, 2025, the GSMA, an association representing mobile network operators worldwide, officially unveiled RCS Universal Profile 3.0, the latest iteration of the Rich Communication Services standard. At first glance, this might seem like a dry, technical update—another incremental step in the world of messaging protocols that most people would shrug off. But dig a little deeper, and it’s clear this one’s a game-changer. After years of fragmented messaging experiences, RCS 3.0 promises to finally bridge the gap between Android and iOS users, delivering secure, interoperable, end-to-end encrypted communication across platforms—a fix that’s been a long time coming.
When Apple added RCS support to iOS 18, the company used an older version of the protocol. This caused chat messages between iPhone and Android users to be unencrypted. Fortunately, Apple has already agreed to update to the latest RCS protocol, thereby permanently fixing the issue.
Google also confirmed to The Verge that it would support the new standard, making it the first time both Apple and Google did so at the same time. Google said it would work as quickly as possible to include it with Android.
Of course, you’ll need to use the proper messaging apps. In this case, it would be Apple iMessage and Google Messages. Third party texting apps typically don’t support RCS at all right now, although that may change someday.
MacDailyNews Note: Currently, messages between iOS users and Android settlers users remain unencrypted until both companies can get it rolled out. No date for that has yet been disclosed.
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