RCS end-to-end encryption spotted in iOS 26.3 beta for French carriers

Apple appears to be edging closer to bringing end-to-end encryption to RCS messages. Clues spotted in iOS 26.3 beta 2 point to upcoming support for E2EE — something the company signaled back in March of last year after the GSM Association approved the relevant standard. Apple hasn’t shared details since, but the latest betas suggest real movement.

Researcher Tiino-X83 noticed a new parameter in the carrier bundle settings that enables or disables end-to-end encryption for RCS messages at the operator level. Notably, the code is currently present only for France’s four major carriers — Bouygues, Orange, SFR, and Free. No similar entry has been found for operators in other examined countries.

Under GSMA requirements, RCS clients must use end-to-end encryption by default unless local law explicitly prohibits it. The decision is made by the operator or client provider for an entire market rather than individual users, and if encryption is disabled, users must be informed. All user messages, except typing indicators, have to be transmitted in encrypted form, and the encryption status must be clearly shown in the interface.

The newly discovered iOS 26.3 parameter likely exists to meet those rules and account for regulatory differences across regions. There’s no certainty that RCS end-to-end encryption will debut in the public release of iOS 26.3 — Apple may simply be laying the technical groundwork for a later update. Even so, the appearance of this code in beta suggests the long-awaited feature could be close. At this point, it feels less like a question of if than when.