After years of waiting, cross-platform messaging between Apple and Android devices has taken a major step forward. While Apple first introduced RCS support with iOS 18 in late 2024, one major feature had been missing—end-to-end encryption between iPhones and Android phones.

That limitation is now being removed with the release of iOS 26.5. Apple has officially enabled end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging, allowing messages exchanged between supported iPhones and Android devices to remain fully private during transmission.

On the Android side, Google confirmed that users running the latest version of Google Messages can now send encrypted RCS chats directly to iPhones updated to iOS 26.5. This marks one of the biggest interoperability improvements between the two ecosystems in recent years.

End-to-end encryption ensures that messages cannot be read by third parties while traveling between devices, adding an extra layer of security and privacy to conversations. Users will know a conversation is protected when a new lock icon appears within RCS chats.

According to Apple, support for encrypted RCS messaging is currently limited to specific carriers, meaning availability may vary depending on region and network provider. Encryption will automatically be enabled for new compatible conversations, while existing chats are expected to gain support gradually over time.

The update significantly narrows the feature gap between iMessage and Android messaging, while also pushing RCS closer to becoming a true universal messaging standard across mobile platforms.