All posts tagged: rcs

Apple confirms big Messages upgrade: RCS encryption is finally coming to your iPhone

Apple confirms big Messages upgrade: RCS encryption is finally coming to your iPhone

Published by Parlour News

Apple first brought support for RCS in its Messages app with the roll out of iOS 18 back in September 2024. However, this feature came with a critical loophole – it didn’t support end-to-end encryption, which is considered the gold standard for safeguarding communications in the digital world. Now, almost two years after introducing the feature, Apple is finally about to close this loophole with the release of iOS 26.5. RCS messages arrived on iPhones in 2024. (Apple) Shweta Ganjoo is a Chief Content Producer at HT Tech. She has over 10 years of experience covering technology, during which time she has focused on consumer tech devices, AI, social media, gadgets, and tech policy, delivering authoritative and reader-focused insights across India’s fast-evolving digital ecosystem. She began her career in the early 2010s, building a strong foundation in digital-first reporting as India’s tech landscape rapidly expanded. Over the years, she has worked with leading media organizations including India Today Tech, Indian Express Group, and Techlusive, where she played a key role in scaling editorial content and …

Cybercriminals Offer Access to ‘Lucid’ Phishing Platform to Target iPhone, Android Phones in 88 Countries

Cybercriminals Offer Access to ‘Lucid’ Phishing Platform to Target iPhone, Android Phones in 88 Countries

Published by Webster

Cybercriminals are using massive device farms that comprise iPhone and Android smartphones in order to send phishing messages to users in 88 countries, according to security researchers. The ‘Lucid’ phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform is designed to deliver messages via iMessage and rich communication services (RCS) chats, with links that lead to phishing websites. These messages are capable of evading typical SMS spam filters due to end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The cybercriminals are also selling licences to use the Lucid platform via a Telegram channel. Lucid Platform Claimed to Deliver Over 100,000 Messages Every Day Unlike regular SMS, messages are delivered to users via iMessage or RCS on iPhone and Android smartphones, respectively. As these are E2EE messaging services, the messages have a higher delivery rate than SMS phishing messages, according to Prodaft’s report. These messages are also cheaper than SMS, as there are no operator charges. One of the alleged device farms used to send tests via iMessagePhoto Credit: Prodaft   In order to deliver a high volume of messages via iMessage, Lucid uses large iOS device …

Google Messages Reportedly Developing ‘Delete for Everyone’ Feature for Android

Google Messages Reportedly Developing ‘Delete for Everyone’ Feature for Android

Published by Webster

Google Messages is said to be developing a new feature for Android which could potentially make it easier to deal with accidentally sent messages. According to a report, a new remote delete functionality was discovered following an APK teardown of the app’s beta build. The feature could soon make its way to the stable release of the Messages app, enabling users to delete messages for everyone in the chat, not just locally on the device. Remote Delete Feature in Google Messages In a report, Android Authority detailed the in-development remote delete feature. It was discovered after an APK teardown of the Google Messages app version messages.android_20250317_01_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic. As per the publication, it will have similar functionality to the “delete for everyone” option offered in other instant messaging platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp. Deleted messages will be replaced by a Message deleted label. When deleting a message, users may be presented with two choices — Delete for everyone and Delete for me. However, the former is reported to depend upon the recent changes to Rich Communication …

Apple will soon support encrypted RCS messaging with Android users 

Apple will soon support encrypted RCS messaging with Android users 

Published by Webster

iPhone and Android users will be able to exchange end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) RCS messages in the near future thanks to newly updated RCS specifications. The GSM Association announced that the latest RCS standard includes E2EE based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, enabling interoperable encryption between different platform providers for the first time. The GSM Association said it had started working to enable E2EE on messages sent between Android and iPhone in September last year. E2EE is a privacy and security feature that prevents third parties, such as messaging providers or cell carriers, from viewing the content of your texts. The GSMA says the new RCS standard was developed in collaboration with “mobile operators, device manufacturers, and technology providers,” including Apple. “End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA,” said Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer. “We will add support for end-to-end …

Google Messages gets chat bubble colour customisation for RCS users | Technology News

Published by Parlour News

Google Messages, the default messaging app on most Android smartphones, has received an update that allows users to further customize the look and feel of the app, including the ability to change the colour of the chat bubbles. With RCS (Rich Communication Services) capability paired with these new customization features, Google Messages is gaining traction among Android users. Google has been developing this feature since last November, and the company is now rolling it out. Google Messages version 20240308 is enabling this new feature, allowing users to customize individual chats. First reported by Android Police, the new feature is currently available for select users. The updated Google Messages allows users to change the colour of the chat bubbles by accessing the settings menu. It’s important to note that this feature only works if you have enabled RCS messaging, a feature Apple is also implementing into its messages, possibly to be introduced with the launch of iOS 18. Similarly, users can also choose between light or dark mode on the Messages app. However, this feature will …

Google Messages Group Chats to Get End-to-End Encryption Soon

Published by Webster

Google is testing end-to-end encryption for group chats on its Messages app. It will make group messaging more secure by introducing this feature. Notably, the new feature will be rolling out to Messages users enrolled in the open beta program in the coming weeks. Google announced the E2EE (end-to-end encryption) feature for group chats at its I/O 2022 event earlier this year. The Messages by Google app already offers E2EE for all one-on-one RCS chats and all texts are encrypted. The search giant announced the availability of E2EE for group chats in Messages via a blog post. The company shared that E2EE messages are private and safe and can only be seen by the sender and the recipient. As of now, one-on-one texts on Google Messages are encrypted and now the feature will also be available for group chats to some users in the open beta program. The feature will be rolled out over the coming weeks. The group chats with E2EE enabled will reportedly have a “This chat is now end-to-end encrypted” banner. There will …