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text edition message send out between iPhones and Android devices will before long profit from end - to - end encryption ( E2EE ) , after the GSM Association ( GSMA ) yesterdaypublished new specificationsfor the Rich Communication Services ( RCS ) communications protocol that include documentation for cross - platform E2EE .
RCS is a long - standing effort to enable SMS - stylus cross - platform communication with robust characteristic , such as group electronic messaging , typing indicators , read receipts , and filing cabinet - sharing — similar to what messaging apps such as WhatsApp provide .
WhilemanyAndroid handset makershad adoptedRCSthrough the years , Apple was the main outlier until it last give in with theintroduction of Io 18 last year . Most of the meat RCS features have been available for cross - platform electronic messaging since then , but E2EE has hitherto been missing — until now .
Selling point
E2EE , for the uninitiate , is a datum encryption method acting that ensures only the transmitter and the receiver of a message can read its subject matter . For technical school caller , this secrecy - preserving promise is a major marketing point , as it control users that their subject matter are secure from stag . Apple has offered E2EE since itlaunched iMessage back in 2011 , though of course that only worked between iOS devices , while WhatsApp completed its E2EErollout in 2016(and , again , it only work on between WhatsApp users ) .
Google , for its part , haspreviouslyadded E2EE to itsown Messages app , but this was its own proprietary labor separate to the RCS protocol itself .
inscribe messages across not only different client but also whole different platforms comes with its own unparalleled challenges , which is where the GSMA’suniversal profileenters the fray , providing a standardized specification for consistent , interoperable RCS messaging across devices , networks , and operators .
Based on the cryptographic Messaging Layer Security ( MLS ) protocol , the young E2EE mechanism in theRCS Universal Profile 3.0is a full of life piece of the interoperable jigsaw , one that will at long last enable iPhone and Android users to communicate securely via their gadget ’s aboriginal messaging app .
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“ That means that RCS will be the first large - scale electronic messaging service to tolerate interoperable E2EE between client effectuation from different providers , ” GSMA technical director Tom Van Pelt sound out in astatement . “ Together with other unique security features such as SIM - base certification , E2EE will provide RCS users with the high level of secrecy and surety for potent protection from scams , fraud and other security measures and privacy threat . ”
