Back in March, cross-platform end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS was announced, and Google Messages is beginning to test the new Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol.
Universal Profile 3.0 adds support for MLS, which makes E2E encryption possible across different RCS clients and providers. Google first announced its support for this interoperable protocol in 2023. The GSMA and Apple announced official adoption this March.
Google Messages is now beginning to test MLS encryption for RCS. It starts with a new message “Details” (long-press on the chat/text) screen that’s fullscreen compared to the current approach.
You get a preview of the message at the top, with Google also showing a “Status” section for “Sent” and Delivered” that explains the new checkmarks. We see Google using the latest single circle design that has yet to become widely available
There’s also a “From” section, while the bottom portion provides more technical details like:
- Type: End-to-End Encrypted Rich Communication Service message
- Priority: Normal
- Message id: xxxxx
- Encryption Protocol: EncryptionProtocol(value=1)
A previous teardown from earlier this year suggested that the “1” value is new MLS protocol, while “0” is Google’s existing approach for Android devices.
This new design is not widely rolled out in the beta channel. It’s unclear if that’s also the case for MLS as the old UI makes no indication, while Apple has yet to specify when support is coming.
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