Google recently said that it would soon begin testing end-to-end encryption in RCS chats inside its Messages app, and now it looks like that test is getting underway.
Several folks have chimed in to say that they've now got end-to-end encryption in their Messages app. Twitter user DaX05 got a pop-up in their app alerting them that end-to-end encryption was available, and Reddit user MlkChawklate shared a screenshot that shows their Messages chat is now showing the lock icon that indicates encryption is active.
End-to-end encryption is currently only available in beta. If you want to try it yourself, you can enroll in the beta program for Google's Messages app. You'll also need to have RCS active, which you can check by going into the Messages app's Settings and looking for "Chat features".
With end-to-end encryption active, no one can read your messages as they travel between your device and the recipient's. This helps to make your chats more secure and is a great thing to have, even if you don't think your conversations are all that important. Other messaging apps like WhatsApp and Apple iMessage already offer end-to-end encryption, and so it's good to see Google adding it to its Messages app, too.
There's no word yet on when end-to-end encryption will be available to everyone using RCS in Google Messages, but hopefully it'll be a short beta period.
