Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Google is finally starting to roll out the ability for Android users to edit RCS messages sent to iPhones, a feature previously unavailable cross-platform.
The feature is in limited testing and isn’t perfect yet, as edited texts currently appear as a new message on iPhones and iPhones can’t edit messages sent to Android devices.
Over the past week, several users, including myself, have gained the ability to edit RCS messages sent to iPhone users.
Furthermore, iPhone users aren’t able to edit RCS messages they send to Android users.
The ability to edit RCS messages sent to iPhone users isn’t widely available yet in Google Messages.
Google Authority/Ryan Haines.
TL;DR.
The previously unattainable cross-platform feature of editing RCS messages sent to iPhones is finally being made available to Android users by Google.
Users can edit and resend a sent message within a 15-minute window by long-pressing it, thanks to the new Universal Profile 3.0 specification.
Since iPhones cannot edit messages sent to Android devices and edited texts currently appear as a new message on iPhones, the feature is still in its early stages of testing and isn’t perfect.
Thanks to Rich Communication Services (RCS), text messaging between iOS and Android has been a horrible experience for years. By enabling functions like read receipts, typing indicators, and high-quality media sharing, this new messaging standard significantly enhances texting between iPhones and Android devices. Apple and Google are progressively adding features that were absent when cross-platform RCS first came out last year. For example, the capability to modify a message sent from an Android phone to an iPhone is now beginning to become available.
When using RCS to message one another, Android users have had the ability to edit iMessages sent to other iPhones for approximately a year, and iPhone users have had this capability for a long time. However, this feature wasn’t included in the official RCS specification when Google first introduced it to Android. Apple’s implementation of the feature was not available for cross-platform chats because it was based on the then-official standard (Universal Profile 2.4), which did not define message editing.
The GSM Association’s introduction of the Universal Profile 3.0 specification earlier this year, which includes support for end-to-end encryption and message editing, changed that. I am one of several users who have been able to edit RCS messages sent to iPhone users during the past week. A pencil icon will appear when I long-press it after sending a message. By tapping this icon, the original text appears in the reply box, enabling me to edit and send it again.
The Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman.
During the 15-minute window that is currently available for editing messages between Android and iPhone, this feature works for me when sending RCS messages to iPhone users who are running the most recent stable release of iOS 18.5 and the iOS 26 beta in both individual and group chats.
The modified message currently appears on the iPhone as a new message preceded by an asterisk, even though it appears and works as intended on the Android side. Moreover, RCS messages sent to Android users cannot be edited by iPhone users. Although it’s unclear when that might happen, Apple will probably need to update its Messages app in order to support RCS message editing. Alongside the cross-platform end-to-end encryption feature that Google and Apple promised to support earlier this year, we hope that full support for message editing will also be available.
It’s not yet common practice to edit RCS messages sent to iPhone users in Google Messages. The only other reports of the feature’s rollout that I’ve seen are from one of my followers today and a Reddit user last week. The majority of people will probably have to wait for a wider release as Google is probably A/B testing this with beta users.
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