iOS end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging begins rolling today in beta.

Apple has officially started rolling out end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging in beta for iPhones running iOS 26.5, marking a major upgrade for texting between iPhone and Android users. 

Here’s what’s changing:

Messages sent between iPhones and Android phones over RCS can now be fully encrypted, meaning only the sender and recipient can read them. Encrypted chats will show a lock icon inside the conversation. The feature works with supported carriers and the latest version of Google Messages on Android. 

This is important because traditional SMS texts — and even earlier iPhone-to-Android RCS chats — were not fully protected. Apple’s Messages and Google’s Google Messages are now using updated RCS standards with encryption support. 

A few things to know:

Encryption is rolling out gradually in beta. Not every carrier supports it yet. Group chats may lose encryption if one participant’s device or carrier does not support encrypted RCS. Android users will still appear as green bubbles on iPhone. 

Apple says encryption is enabled by default once supported devices and carriers are detected.