Android users could soon get this huge privacy upgrade

(Image credit: Google)

Google has begun beta testing the new RCS (Rich Communication Service) messaging with end-to-end encryption to protect users from certain three-letter agencies.

Google is looking to move on from the antiquated SMS text standard and replace it with its more secure and feature enhanced RCS messaging format. Available now in a limited beta release, the RCS messaging format end-to-end encryption is a welcome feature for Android users who have been waiting for Google to catch up to Apple's level of encrypted messaging that's been a mainstay in iMessenger.

Google shared recently that it's rolled out the new RCS format worldwide with end-to-end encryption. The release effectively addresses what many have seen as a major weakness of Android messaging app. Especially since apps like WhatsApp and iMessenger have been providing users with this level of security for years now.

Google first used end-to-end encryption in its Allo app. However,users still had to go into settings to turn it on instead of it being native within the application and always on.

E2EE will be available only to people using the beta version and they must enable the feature. However, it will only be available in one-on-one conversations initially. Google released a technical paper with detailed information for users. Welcome Android users to the world of encrypted messaging. It's about damn time.

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.