The short messaging service, popularly known as SMS, turned 30 today and to celebrate its birthday, Google has announced that its Messages app will support end-to-end encryption for group chats in the coming weeks, a feature who has been available for a one-on-one conversation for a couple of years.
However, end-to-end encryption for group chats is only open to Messages users enrolled in the beta program, so if you want to try it, you’ll need to join the beta program. You can go here to learn more about the beta program for Messages app.
In addition to announcing end-to-end encryption for group chats, Google also announced that the Messages app will soon allow users to react to Rich Communication Services (RCS) messages with any emoji, similar to WhatsApp.
Google also took SMS’s 30th birthday as an opportunity to poke fun at Apple for its refusal to adopt RCS, saying, “Every major carrier and manufacturer has adopted RCS as the standard, except Apple. Apple refuses to adopt RCS and continues to rely on texting when people with iPhones text people with Android phones, meaning their text messages are stuck in the 90s.”
The Mountain View-based internet search giant launched its #GetTheMessage campaign a few months ago, calling for Apple to adopt RCS, but the Cupertino-based tech giant has been pretty adamant and stubborn about its stance, with the CEO of Apple Tim Cook who said he would rather convert Android users to iPhones.
How this “green bubble vs. blue bubble” thing plays out remains to be seen, and how long it will be before Apple steps up and adopts RCS.
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