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Apple Prepares RCS End-to-End Encryption in iOS 26.3 Beta

Rollout hinges on carriers enabling the GSMA Universal Profile across markets.

Overview

  • iOS 26.3 Beta 2 contains carrier-bundle and UI references that signal support for RCS Universal Profile 3.0 encryption.
  • The discovered code appears tied to four French operators—Bouygues, Orange, SFR, and Free—with no indication of a wider switch-on.
  • It remains unconfirmed whether end-to-end encryption is live, and Apple has not provided a timeline for activation.
  • Universal Profile 3.0 standardizes encryption for texts, attachments, and group chats, and introduces inline replies, editing, unsending, and full Tapback reactions.
  • Availability will depend on operator deployment and cross-platform coordination, with GSMA’s newer 3.1 profile adding codec, spam reporting, and file-transfer security updates.