iOS 26.3 Hints at Improved iPhone-to-Android Texting Coming Soon

I’m glad, these are basically everything else I wanted from RCS.

Technically it’s not true, it makes sure that only Apple can read your messages. iMessage, iOS, and iCloud have access to the clear text messages.

Of course it would be very ill advised for them to do so and get caught, but technically that’s what it is, in particular with closed source software.

That is false.

E2EE means the messages are all encrypted in transit as well as at rest until decrypted by the decryption key which only exists on device. All your messages are encrypted on device and in iCloud. The problem is that if you enable iCloud device backups, it also backs up that decryption key so technically Apple can use that decryption key in certain circumstances and at the request of law enforcement. If you enable advanced data protection, Apple does not have access to any of your encryption keys.



Standard data protection is the default setting for your account. Your iCloud data is encrypted in transit and stored in an encrypted format at rest. The encryption keys from your trusted devices are secured in Apple data centers, so Apple can decrypt your data on your behalf whenever you need it, such as when you sign in on a new device, restore from a backup, or recover your data after you’ve forgotten your password. As long as you can successfully sign in to your Apple Account, you can access your backups, photos, documents, notes, and more.

If you enable Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, the key does not exists anywhere else but on device.



Starting with iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2 and macOS 13.1, you can choose to enable Advanced Data Protection to protect the vast majority of your iCloud data, even in the case of a data breach in the cloud.

With Advanced Data Protection, the number of data categories that use end-to-end encryption rises to 25 and includes your iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more. The table below lists the additional data categories that are protected by end-to-end encryption when you enable Advanced Data Protection.

If you enable Advanced Data Protection and then lose access to your account, Apple will not have the encryption keys to help you recover it — you’ll need to use your device passcode or password, a recovery contact ('https://support.apple.com/en-us/102641'), or a personal recovery key ('https://support.apple.com/en-us/109345'). Because the majority of your iCloud data will be protected by end-to-end encryption, you’ll be guided to set up at least one recovery contact or recovery key before you turn on Advanced Data Protection. You must also update all your Apple devices to a software version that supports this feature.

I’d be happy just for

Change log: we finally fixed our godawful autocorrect.

Technically it’s not true, it makes sure that only Apple can read your messages. iMessage, iOS, and iCloud have access to the clear text messages.

Of course it would be very ill advised for them to do so and get caught, but technically that’s what it is, in particular with closed source software.

Enable advanced data protection, and they don't. I've had it on since day one.

No privacy anymore

Communication privacy is a relatively new concept. Phone calls since the beginning have never been private; all took was a phone, alligator clips and a bored teenager to listen in (experience talking there), or back with party lines, your neighbor could easily listen. Cordless phones were easily listened to with a scanner for years. Mail still requires a warrant to open, but it sure is easy to steal if one tries. Email has never been private. Web data was free-and-clear for a long time until https became widespread.

If you want private, talk face to face.

('https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/13/ios-26-rcs-3-future-benefits/')

Starting with the iOS 26.3 beta ('https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/12/ios-26-3-new-features/'), Apple appears to be laying the groundwork ('https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/13/encryption-rcs-messages-latest-ios-beta/') for carriers to be able to support end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, and that news should actually have even bigger implications for the Messages app on the iPhone.



In order to offer E2EE for RCS, iOS 26.3 or later would need to support RCS Universal Profile 3.0 ('https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/technologies/networks/gsma_resources/gsma-rcs-universal-profile-3-0-specifications/'), which includes many iMessage-like enhancements for RCS:

* End-to-end encryption, which will prevent Apple and any other third party from being able to read messages and attachments while they are being sent between devices, as has always been the case with iMessage
* In-line replies
* Edit messages
* Unsend messages
* Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages, with no special workarounds

RCS support as a whole was added to the iPhone with iOS 18, which supported ‌RCS‌ Universal Profile 2.4. It is effectively a modernized version of the SMS standard, which remains available as a fallback option for text messages over a cellular network.

The enhancements listed above were actually introduced in RCS‌ Universal Profile 2.7, and iOS would finally get them by jumping to RCS Universal Profile 3.0.

iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have already supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. iMessage has also supported in-line replies since iOS 14, while the options to edit and unsend iMessages were introduced with iOS 16.

Timing

Last year, Apple said it planned to add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages ('https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/14/apple-encrypted-rcs-messaging-software-update/') to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates. However, Apple did not provide a specific timeframe.

As mentioned above, Apple appears to finally be laying the groundwork for E2EE for RCS in the iOS 26.3 beta, but it will be up to carriers to implement support, and Apple might also work with Google to ensure there is a consistent experience across iOS and Android. Hopefully we begin to see support roll out at some point between iOS 26.3 and iOS 27.

E2EE for RCS may be limited to select countries at first, as carriers begin rolling it out.

Article Link: iOS 26.3 Hints at Improved iPhone-to-Android Texting Coming Soon ('https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/13/ios-26-rcs-3-future-benefits/')

Does this include the “Schedule Send” feature?