The GSM Affiliation, the governing physique that oversees the event of the Wealthy Communications Companies (RCS) protocol, on Tuesday, stated it is working in direction of implementing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to safe messages despatched between the Android and iOS ecosystems.
“The next major milestone is for the RCS Universal Profile to add important user protections such as interoperable end-to-end encryption,” Tom Van Pelt, technical director of GSMA, stated.
“This will be the first deployment of standardized, interoperable messaging encryption between different computing platforms, addressing significant technical challenges such as key federation and cryptographically-enforced group membership.”
The event comes a day after Apple formally rolled out iOS 18 with assist for RCS in its Messages app, which comes with superior options like message reactions, typing indications, learn receipts, and high-quality media sharing, amongst others.
RCS, an enchancment over the present SMS customary, is presently not end-to-end encrypted out of the field, prompting Google to implement the Sign protocol to safe RCS conversations on Android.
Earlier this yr, Apple stated it would work with GSMA members to combine encryption. It is price noting that the corporate’s proprietary iMessage service is E2EE enabled.
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate across the mobile ecosystem to advance the RCS standard with interoperable end-to-end encryption to keep all RCS messages private and secure,” Van Pelt stated.
Google, final July, additionally revealed plans for baking the Message Layer Safety (MLS) protocol to its Messages app for Android to be able to facilitate interoperability throughout messaging companies and platforms.
As just lately as this month, Meta detailed its method to allow interoperability with third-party messaging companies in WhatsApp and Fb Messenger as a part of its efforts to adjust to the E.U. Digital Markets Act (DMA) whereas sustaining E2EE ensures “as far as possible.”
“Building third-party chats is technically challenging and preserving privacy and security is a shared responsibility,” the social media firm stated. “We have already come a long way, but there is a lot more to build.”
