APPLE has released a new iOS and iPadOS developer beta that adds end-to-end encryption for Rich Communications Services (RCS) messages. The feature is available for testing in iOS and iPadOS 26.4 Beta and is not guaranteed to ship to all devices or carriers in a future update. According to Apple, conversations labelled as encrypted are end-to-end encrypted, meaning messages cannot be read while in transit between devices.
The availability of RCS encryption is limited to conversations between Apple devices, not across other platforms such as Android, and implementing E2EE for RCS will require an update to RCS Universal Profile 3.0 built atop the MLS protocol. The rollout follows GSMA’s earlier announcement of E2EE for RCS, and the beta additionally introduces Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) safeguards for apps. According to a report from MacRumors, iOS 26.4 is also expected to enable Stolen Device Protection by default for all iPhone users.