Almost a year ago, the GSMA Association unveiled the RCS Universal Profile 3.0 specification. This marked the first time that end-to-end encryption (E2EE) was integrated into the industry's unified standard. Prior to this, encryption solutions were mainly customized and implemented by Google. That's precisely why, when introducing RCS in iOS 18, Apple didn't incorporate this feature. In March 2025, Apple made a significant announcement, declaring full support for RCS 3.0 in iOS 19. This enabled a range of features, including cross-platform end-to-end encryption, multimedia interactions, as well as message editing and retraction capabilities. Before this update, iOS 18 had already offered basic RCS functionality. However, it fell short in terms of encryption and advanced interaction features. In January 2026, users stumbled upon new code pertaining to RCS end-to-end encryption in the iOS 26.3 beta version. Although this doesn't necessarily imply that the feature will be instantly accessible, it serves as a technical indicator of Apple's continuous dedication to advancing this technology.