Apple’s RCS Chat For iPhones Get End-To-End Encryption Security: Will It Work On Android?

Last Updated:February 23, 2026, 13:43 IST

Apple users are getting the full encryption support for RCS chats across devices on the standard app but what about Android?

Apple supported RCS chats a few years back but the service did not get the secure level of iMessage or even WhatsApp. That is gradually changing and the iOS 26.4 beta 1 update gives us the first hint of end-to-end encryption (E2E) working on RCS chats but with a big twist from the company.

Apple says its support for E2E in RCS will only work across its devices and there is no mention of Android in the details which hints at a delayed focus on making RCS work cross-platform with better security for the users.

RCS Security But Not For Android: Here’s Why

Apple’s never warmed up to opening its features on Android but the European Union (EU) rules made it impossible to avoid. Even the support for RCS chats have come from these orders but even then Apple is ignoring E2E security for Android devices on RCS, at least for now.

The company is probably looking to cement the standards of its own devices first which is easier to do and then eventually plug it with the Android version for the Messages app on Google’s ecosystem. Apple also cites privacy reasons for not making its devices work with Android, but RCS chat E2E support only for its devices is rather hard to understand.

To be fair, RCS chats have not really set the world on fire, and most people are happy to use existing platforms like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram that have the security features and a lot more. Apple has rolled out the new iOS 26.4 beta 1 update for iPhone users earlier this month and surprisingly, there is no sign of Siri AI (yet) or Apple AI tools going for the juggernaut.

This is the first beta of iOS 26.4 so we still hope to see things improve with the future beta versions but all the excitement around Siri AI making its way in some form this month has been dashed by the company with its new release. Apple is also bringing third-party alert forwarding which means the messages or calls from your iPhone can be forwarded to an Android smartwatch.