End-To-End Encryption Now Rolling Out For All Google Messages Users

Back in Nov 2020, Google started beta testing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in Letters, the default texting app for Android. This important security feature has now exited the beta channel and is coming to all one-to-one RCS (Rich Communication Services) conversations on the app. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President at Google, announced this rollout via a tweet earlier this week. The company also quietly mentioned this addition in its summer Android announcements.

E2EE should be available to all Google Messages users with supported Android smartphones over the next few days. Users don't need to practise anything, it will be available automatically for all eligible conversations.

Annotation that E2EE doesn't work for SMS/MMS messages. It's not available for group RCS messages either. And so your letters are only end-to-finish encrypted if you're having a i-to-ane RCS conversation either on Google Messages mobile app or on the spider web. Moreover, both parties demand to have Conversation features enabled in the app and the device must have an active net connection. Conversations that are end-to-stop encrypted will feature a lock icon in the "Chatting with" banner at the meridian. The same lock icon can also be seen on timestamps too equally on the send push.

RCS, if you don't already know, is a kind of successor to SMS. It needs an agile data or Wi-fi connection to work and comes with all modern chat features like typing indicator, read recipients, and now, E2EE. If either recipient is offline, the message will not be sent/delivered until the connection is established. Users can still choose to send the message via SMS but information technology will non be end-to-end encrypted. SMS and RCS messages are differentiated past using different color shades – dark blue for RCS state and light blueish for SMS/MMS.

Google widely rolls out end-to-terminate encryption in Letters

With E2EE enabled, all messages in a chat are visible only to the two participants of the RCS Chat. Neither Google nor any other third-party server would be able to read them as the messages are indecipherable without the decryption keys that are only available "on your device and the device you message". Annotation that you cannot disable this security feature for obvious reasons. You lot can find the technical details of the E2EE implementation on Google Letters hither (via).

Google has withal to say anything well-nigh whether information technology plans to bring E2EE to group conversations on Google Letters. Since many other messaging apps exercise, the company certainly can't afford to lag. We will update you if it announces E2EE for groups also in the future.