Google Introduces Encryption to Group Chats

Google has announced that it will begin rolling out end-to-end encrypted group RCS chats to the beta version of Google Messages over the next few weeks. The company's messaging app has supported encryption for one-on-one conversations for some time, but this upcoming innovation is a big step towards making sure that most of your conversations can't be read by carriers or Google. In an announcement blog post published on Friday, Google said the feature will be available to some users in the open beta program in the coming weeks. It may therefore take some time before it becomes generally available. Google also noted that it is working on a feature that would allow you to use any emoji when reacting to an RCS message. Last month, the company was seen running some tests on this.

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Google Takes Important Steps on Privacy

This is the latest twist in a mostly one-sided battle between Google and Apple over RCS. The Android maker is trying to shame Apple into adopting the standard, arguing that it will make things better for everyone. Apple's iMessage is often seen as a worthy competitor to other messaging apps for iPhone users. But Apple may need to beef up its security to stay at the forefront of this competition. A recent blog post raises concerns that iMessage's end-to-end encryption can be circumvented if you or the person you're talking to has iCloud backups. If Google Messages' RCS group chats don't have this problem, it could make Messages a better option for most people, along with options like WhatsApp and Signal, which further expand the audience for encrypted group chats.