{
  "slug": "sms",
  "name": "Text messages (SMS)",
  "maker": "your carrier",
  "category": "chats",
  "verdict": "n",
  "answer": "No. Your carrier can read your text messages, because plain SMS and MMS texts aren't end-to-end encrypted.",
  "title": "Are text messages encrypted? SMS and MMS",
  "description": "Your carrier can read plain text messages, because SMS and MMS aren't end-to-end encrypted. Here's how to send sealed messages instead.",
  "parts": [
    {
      "key": "msg",
      "status": "n",
      "words": "Your carrier can read it",
      "note": "SMS texts aren't end-to-end encrypted, so they can be read inside the phone network.",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "label": "Messages"
    },
    {
      "key": "grp",
      "status": "n",
      "words": "Your carrier can read it",
      "note": "Group texts sent as MMS aren't end-to-end encrypted either.",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "label": "Group chats"
    },
    {
      "key": "call",
      "status": "na",
      "words": "Not offered",
      "note": "Phone calls have their own page.",
      "sources": [],
      "label": "Calls"
    },
    {
      "key": "bak",
      "status": "na",
      "words": "Not offered",
      "note": "Plain texts have no backup of their own: your phone's backup keeps them, which the iMessage and Google Messages pages cover.",
      "sources": [],
      "label": "Backups"
    },
    {
      "key": "pq",
      "status": "x",
      "words": "Not yet",
      "note": "Plain texts have no end-to-end encryption at all, so they have no post-quantum protection as of 25 October 2026.",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "label": "Post-quantum"
    }
  ],
  "extra_parts": [],
  "keys": "Your carrier. Plain texts have no end-to-end keys, so they can be read inside the phone network.",
  "can_see": "What your texts say, who you text and when, and identifiers like your phone number and your phone's IMEI.",
  "business": null,
  "fix": {
    "title": "Send sealed messages instead of plain texts",
    "steps": [
      "On iPhone, open Settings › Apps › Messages and turn on iMessage.",
      "On iPhone, for chats with Android phones, go to Settings › Apps › Messages › RCS Messaging, turn on RCS Messaging, and check that End-to-End Encryption (Beta) is on.",
      "On Android, open Google Messages, tap your profile picture › Messages settings › RCS chats, and turn on RCS chats."
    ],
    "after": "Your messages are then sealed when the other person's phone and carrier support it. Look for the lock: a chat without it isn't sealed."
  },
  "fix_line": "Use sealed chats instead: turn on iMessage and RCS Messaging on iPhone, or RCS chats in Google Messages.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "are-text-messages-encrypted",
      "q": "Are text messages encrypted?",
      "a": "No. Apple and Google both say SMS and MMS messages aren't end-to-end encrypted [1][2]. Apple adds that this means they're not protected from a third party reading them on the way [1].\n\nOn an iPhone, plain texts show in green bubbles, the same as RCS chats [1]. RCS chats can be sealed, which is covered on the iMessage and Google Messages pages."
    },
    {
      "id": "can-my-carrier-read-my-texts",
      "q": "Can my carrier read my texts?",
      "a": "Yes. Texts travel through your carrier's network without end-to-end encryption [1][3]. The US cybersecurity agency CISA warns that anyone with access to a phone company's network who intercepts texts can read them [3].\n\nYour carrier handles every text, so it also sees who you text and when. Apple says the identifiers shared with your carrier can include your phone number and your phone's IMEI [1]."
    },
    {
      "id": "are-login-codes-by-text-safe",
      "q": "Is it safe to get login codes by text?",
      "a": "Not for people at high risk, says CISA. It tells them not to use texts for login codes, because texts aren't encrypted and can be intercepted [3].\n\nCISA says codes from an authenticator app are better than texts, and that security keys are the strongest choice, with passkeys an acceptable alternative [3]."
    },
    {
      "id": "what-about-rcs",
      "q": "What about RCS chats?",
      "a": "RCS is the newer kind of text, and it can be sealed. Between Google Messages users, RCS chats are sealed by default [2]. On iOS 26.5 or later, RCS chats between iPhone and Android can be sealed too, in beta, when every person's carrier supports it [1].\n\nYou can turn RCS on in your phone's Messages settings [4][5]. If you don't see a lock in the chat, the message isn't sealed [1][2]."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "What is the difference between iMessage, RCS, and SMS/MMS?",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/104972",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "How end-to-end encryption in Google Messages provides more security",
      "publisher": "Google",
      "url": "https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "Mobile Communications Best Practice Guidance",
      "publisher": "CISA",
      "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/mobile-communications-best-practice-guidance",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "Turn on RCS messaging on your iPhone",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/122195",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "Turn on RCS chats in Google Messages",
      "publisher": "Google",
      "url": "https://support.google.com/messages/answer/7189714",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    }
  ],
  "changes": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-25",
      "text": "First published."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "google-messages",
    "imessage",
    "phone-calls",
    "signal",
    "whatsapp"
  ],
  "url": "https://isitencrypted.com/sms/",
  "checked": "2026-10-25"
}