Updated February 12, 2026: The final version of iOS 26.3 is available.
Apple has just released a new beta version of iOS 26.3. The update, which should arrive on the general public’s iPhones at the end of February, already reveals some of its secrets to us. Among the new features developed since Apple Park, Cupertino engineers have finally installed end-to-end encryption of messages sent via RCS.
As a reminder, RCS is the new communication standard used on smartphones. It is gradually replacing SMS, which had major security problems. They were precisely not “end-to-end encrypted”. With this additional layer of security, a third party cannot intercept a message to read it. Only the recipient of an RCS will be able to “decrypt” its content using a unique access key.
Apple is developing RCS, only in France?
For years, Apple didn’t want to hear about RCS. It must be said that the technology is a direct competitor to iMessage, Apple’s internal service. Both offer the same levels of security and identical functionalities for users (possibility of sending images, videos, reactions to a message, etc.).
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But for several months, under pressure from the courts in particular, Apple has opened up. Apple first tolerated the presence of RCS on iPhones. Today, with iOS 26.3, it takes another step in the right direction. The RCS will therefore be encrypted, as highlighted by user Tiino-X83 who found several lines of code in beta 2 of iOS 26.3.
Interestingly, message encryption via RCS is, according to these same lines of code, only available with 4 telephone operators worldwide. Even stranger, these are the 4 French operators (Bouygues, Free, SFR and Orange) which are present in the code of iOS 26.3. The traditional American operators (AT&T, Vodafone, etc.) are notably absent from this beta.
By: Keleops AG
