Seeing ‘Encrypted’ On Your iPhone Messages? Here’s What That Means
Seeing ‘Encrypted’ On Your iPhone Messages? Here’s What That Means
https://www.bgr.com/2173362/what-encrypted-means-on-iphone-messages/
Publish Date: 2026-05-31 13:47:00
Source Domain: www.bgr.com
After a few months of beta testing with developers, Apple finally released (in beta) end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging to iPhone users with iOS 26.5. With that, you can message Android users without getting the risk of a hacker intercepting your message. That said, if you started seeing “Encrypted” on your iPhone messages with Android users, this means you’re running iOS 26.5 or later and you’re texting someone on Android with the latest version of Google Messages. So, if you’re wondering why your iPhone messages say “encrypted,” here is the answer.
Rich Communication Services, or RCS, is a standard that makes messages between Android and iOS users more seamless. While the green vs. blue bubbles debate still lives on, texting your Android friends is not as bad as it used to be, as Apple now supports sending images, videos, and even letting them see that you reacted to their messages. Now, with iOS 26.5, Apple takes this integration one step further by offering, in beta, end-to-end encrypted RCS messages. This change makes talking to your friends in a different ecosystem more secure and private while also replacing the traditional SMS format. Check out Apple’s support page for the full list of carriers that support end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging.
Encrypted RCS messaging helps to improve iOS and Android interoperability
José Adorno/BGR
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