Messaging app: How RCS works – but not yet encrypted
Apple is fulfilling a wish from Android fans in iOS 18: they can now talk to iPhone users via RCS. It's easy to use, but not (yet) very secure.
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In the end, many observers would not have believed it: After years of begging and lobbying by Google, Apple has now rolled out support for the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol for the iPhone for the first time with iOS 18. Support for the successor to SMS is well implemented, but so far not quite perfect –, which is not just down to the manufacturer.
Activation via switch
If you have not already done so, you must first activate RCS: This is possible via Settings, Apps, Messages and RCS messages using a simple switch. RCS messages are not blue like iMessage messages, but green like SMS messages. Instead, a wide range of new protocol options are supported.
These include the transmission of audio messages, read receipts, images and videos in higher resolutions, a display when the communication partner is typing, emoji reactions and the option of sending RCS messages directly via the Internet / WLAN. Group chats are also possible, in which you can add and delete users – and you can also give your group a name.
The small problems
Not every Android user has RCS – Sometimes the function has not been activated or there are problems with the network operator. In general, however, support should be high, as major cell phone manufacturers such as Samsung have been participating for years. It can happen that you first have to reactivate RCS when roaming – but in some regions of the world it is not supported at all.
Finally, there are also minor problems with RCS. For example, you cannot reply to sent media with emojis and it is not possible to send a direct message to a group chat. Even more important, however, is the security issue: there is currently no end-to-end encryption as with iMessage or Signal; at the very least, network operators whose servers are used for communication can look into RCS (as is already the case with SMS). According to the GSM Association, end-to-end encryption is only "the next milestone". "This will [then] be the first deployment of standardized, interoperable message encryption between different computing platforms, addressing significant technical challenges such as key association and cryptographically enforced group membership." How long the implementation will take is unknown.
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