iOS 26.4 beta 2 is now rolling out for developers, and it expands support for testing encrypted RCS messaging on iPhone.
When iOS 26.4 beta 1 was released last week, it added early support for testing RCS encryption, but just for iPhone-to-iPhone messaging. In iOS 26.4 beta 2, however, support is expanding to include messaging between iPhone and Android devices.
Support for testing RCS encryption is rolling out gradually to iPhone users running iOS 26.4 beta 2. Android users, meanwhile, will need to be running the latest beta version of the Google Messages app. Availability will also vary based on carriers.
Once updated to iOS 26.4 beta 2, iPhone users can go to Settings > Messages > RCS Messaging and look for the new “End-to-End Encryption (Beta)” toggle. This should be enabled by default.
Apple has also updated the Messages app interface to accommodate these changes. When you message someone with RCS encryption enabled, you will see a new lock icon in the chat thread.
This lock icon will also appear on all iMessage threads, as iMessage has supported end-to-end encryption since 2011.
As we reported last week, RCS end-to-end encryption will not actually ship as part of iOS 26.4. Instead, it’s included in this beta for testing purposes and Apple says it will be available in a future iOS 26 update.
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