Your iPhone RCS chats with Android are encrypted in iOS 26.5: How to verify E2E is enabled

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• iOS 26.5 will encrypt RCS text messages between iOS and Android.
• The encryption supports the iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
• The update brings new Pride wallpaper to iPhone and Apple Watch.

iPhone owners who exchange texts with Android users should now find that their messages are safe and secure from prying eyes. Released on Monday, Apple's iOS 26.5 finally brings end-to-end encryption to RCS (Rich Communication Services) messages. Thanks to the latest iOS updates, that protection also extends to the iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.

Also: How to send RCS messages from your iPhone to your Android user friends

This type of end-to-end encryption means that your messages can't be read while they travel between devices. For now, the feature will be in beta mode as it ...