Google obviously says that Apple RCS support will come in the fall
While Apple has publicly only said that it will add RCS messaging support to iOS later in 2024, a Google announcement appears to pin it down further.
RCS support will be added to the iPhone sometime in 2024
Apple's November 2023 announcement that it would add RCS messaging support to the iPhone, committed to it being done "later next year." The addition, possibly forced on the company by China, is presumably taking months because Apple is ignoring Google's RCS in favor of working on a new version with a standards body.
Google has launched a new page about RCS messaging, and at least at first included this extra detail about a launch in the fall.
"Apple has announced it will be adopting RCS in the fall of 2024," said Google's page. "Once that happens, it will mean a better messaging experience for everyone."
Strictly speaking, Fall 2024 starts on September 22, which is likely to be after the launch of the iPhone 16 Pro, and therefore also the public launch of iOS 18. It's not clear if it will be in the early betas of iOS 18 expected at WWDC 2024.
Note, too, that Google's page is a series of short segments that pop out to optionally offer more detail. It's sufficiently busy and with so many such elements, that this quote can't be found with a search on the page.
It can be found on an external Google search, so Googling a term like "fall of 2024 site:https://www.android.com/google-messages/" will turn it up.
Consequently, it's possible that the announcement is simply buried somewhere on the page. Or it could be that the announcement has since been removed, and Google's search is showing up only cached earlier versions.
Google's new page does quite clearly include an explanation that "RCS stands for 'Rich Communication Services' and is the modern messaging technology standard." Oddly, it doesn't mention RCS's problems, or how Google has previously failed to entirely adopt this itself.
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Google cannot see the contents of any RCS Google Messages. They are encrypted end-to-end, from your device which encrypts them, to the receiver's phone, where they are decrypted. It is equally as secure and private as iMessage, and at least in one way even more so than Apple's Messaging. At the very worst they might be able to log metadata, same as Apple can, which is hardly the same as seeing the contents of a message.
If you are comfortable with others potentially being able to read your RCS messages sent from your iPhone, just as they can read SMS messages now, then it won't matter if the GSMA ever makes encryption part of the standard. They might not, and I don't think Apple will care. The GSMA has had years to do so and have ignored it despite Google's pushing them to add it. Encryption is not in the interests of the carriers, and they have been the ones leading the RCS standards body.
So until there's movement on that front, while iPhone owners cannot be assured of RCS privacy and security, Google Messages users will be. That is unless an iPhone user enters that conversation and breaks the security with Apple's RCS. There's been no mention of Google requiring those unencrypted iPhone messages to display a different bubble color in Google Messages but IMO, they will likely have green bubbles as default, the same as the insecure fallback SMS now has, while blue is reserved for Google's encrypted and secure communications.
Of course an Android owner can choose to change the colors from the defaults, even to specific contacts in a conversation.
I made it easier for you to parse by fixing your post.
Google's Terms of Service still suck.
But you're right that Apple and Google generally push each other to be better. When one offers something the other doesn't they do tend to bridge the gap sooner or later. Here's another privacy feature coming to Android, one that Apple should copy: Location Privacy HAL.
It offers users control over when location data is shared with a cellular network. HAL can block these requests, which could protect against stingray devices and potential abuse by stalkers and other miscreants.
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-15-location-privacy-3429574/
Yes, RCS is enabled by default for all new and existing users of Google's Messages app, unless the user purposefully disabled it in their Settings some time ago. Otherwise it is active and on, and has been that way since last August. If a Google Messages user does not want to use RCS it must be toggled off. The app will continue to work, but without Google's encrypted RCS.
A user can also toggle on or off read receipts and typing indicators to control whether conversants know if they are replying or have even seen a message.
Do you research stuff before bursting out with "Liar!" ?? It appears not.
Perhaps you should slow your roll until you triple-check and confirm facts. Even then tossing out 'Lie" is above and beyond. I know for fact that you are wrong, but that would not make you a liar. I would not claim you are one, in any event.
*Unless you have Advanced Data Protection on your cloud account, Apple CAN read them from your backup because they can access the key, and deliver them in a readable format to a third party on receipt of a legal order.
By default, Google Messages are encrypted even in your cloud account, truly E2EE with no special handling or toggles needed. Google has no key, cannot access your key, and cannot otherwise decrypt or offer them in a readable format in compliance with a legal demand.