[VERGE] Google Messages now encrypts RCS conversations by default

This is the best summary I could come up with:

It’s a major change that keeps messages private from Google and the carriers, and it marks a big milestone in Google’s ongoing efforts with RCS.

The company first started rolling out end-to-end encryption for one-on-one messages in late 2020.

Google has been pushing RCS for a very long time, especially as a way to compete with Apple’s iMessage and blue bubbles.

For a long time, iMessage’s end-to-end encryption for all chats was a big differentiator over Google Messages, so it’s nice that Google Messages will finally offer parity on that front.

Beyond end-to-end encryption, RCS offers a handful of great improvements to messaging over standard SMS, including typing indicators, read receipts, and the ability to share high-resolution photos and videos.

But despite Google’s best efforts, Apple still hasn’t adopted RCS — if it did, texting between Android devices and iPhones would probably be a lot better.

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