Gone are the days of SMS texting as people nowadays would instead turn to instant messaging that requires an internet connection and more protection via end-to-end encryption (E2EE), something that Apple's iMessage is well-known for.
With that, Google and Android have been struggling for years to find something that could rival Apple's iMessage available on iPhones and iPads, but it seems like they found the answer with rich communication services or RCS.
End-to-End Encryption
RCS is believed to be the successor of SMS and MMS texting.
It provides a richer form of messages and often includes images, GIFS, and multimedia links in a standardized format, as noted by Tech Advisor.
However, there is still something missing--something that iMessage has: E2EE.
Nevertheless, that may change as some people have found evidence that Google Messages is readying for end-to-end encryption for RCS messages.
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Google Messages Will Soon Have E2EE?
In a report by 9to5Google, people from APKMirror found files for the Google Messages version 6.2 that indicates that the app will soon be offering E2EE encryption for RCS messages, which means it could finally rival Apple's iMessage.
According to them, there are actually 12 new strings in the app that reference end-to-end encryption, shortened to E2EE.
To use it, both users might have to use Google Messages at the same time, which is available for any Android phone users, and they can download and use it instead of the default messaging app that their phone comes with.
The team also noted that people on both ends need to have a good internet connection for the feature to work, but the full requirement is still unknown.
If you don't have a good connection, Google Messages might ask you to send your message through SMS or MMS instead, but both of these messaging forms are not encrypted, so the app will remind you of that before hitting send or canceling your choice and moving to a different messaging app.
In addition, it seems as though the app has extra protection in place.
Apparently, you can set whether other Android apps can also see your encrypted messages if they have permission to see your messages.
You will also get a reminder that your messages are encrypted if you are sharing your location.
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Will it be available for the public?
Many Android users are perhaps happy and excited to hear this news, seeing as they could finally heave a sigh of relief knowing their messages are encrypted, and their privacy and security are finally being given more focus.
However, the news outlet has a disclaimer: Google might not intend to roll out this end-to-end encryption feature to the public, and they are likely to use and testing it for various Google employees.
This could mean that the security feature won't be coming with the next update of Google Messages and, instead, would be rolled out sometime in the future.
Nevertheless, it's still some good news knowing that the company is working behind the scenes to guarantee their user's privacy and security.
For now, all Android and Google Messages app users can do is wait for its release.
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