FBI Advisory for iPhone Users: Consider Discontinuing iMessage Utilization
FBI Advisory for iPhone Users: Consider Discontinuing iMessage Utilization
It's been the talk of the tech world this month, pushing aside the highly anticipated releases of Apple's iOS 18.2 and Samsung's One UI 7 beta. The headlines keep coming, offering guidance to a user base now equally divided between concern and confusion. And no platform is more perplexing than iMessage—so here's a breakdown of what's secure and what's not on iMessage, and why the warning means you might want to consider an alternative.
"The FBI says your texts aren't safe. Is it time to quit?" questioned The Hill this weekend, simultaneously as Android Centralwarned that while Google seems to disregard users within its own ecosystem, Apple only did the bare minimum due to lack of concern for its users.
You won't need a recap, but for the sake of clarity: Salt Typhoon, a hacking group linked to China's Ministry of State Security, has infiltrated U.S. networks, collecting call and message metadata from numerous users and content from some. The FBI has advised iPhone and Android users to abandon insecure SMS/RCS and opt for encrypted platforms instead, although they'd prefer those platforms to share content when requested.
The FBI's warning primarily targeted U.S. citizens. While Android outperforms iPhone globally at a 4:1 ratio, in the U.S., iPhone still holds the upper hand, leading in key market segments such as the young and higher wealth demographics. Consequently, Newsweekframed the story as "why iPhone owners should stop texting Android users amid FBI warning."
Apple's messaging platform is not straightforward. It serves as a front-end for iMessage, its end-to-end encrypted messaging protocol, and the only available SMS client on iPhone. Criticisms about this have been raised in this year's DOJ report on Apple's 'walled garden.' As of iOS 18, the Messages app also supports RCS, enabling it to operate across three different message standards - iMessage, RCS, and SMS.
Messaging between Apple users who have iMessage enabled and a live data connection is entirely secure, as indicated by the famous blue bubbles. SMS and RCS, whether transmitted over a data connection or not, are never fully secure and will always appear with green bubbles.
The Messages app will utilize the most secure connection it can find - iMessage first, then RCS, and lastly SMS. While RCS isn't fully secure, it is better than SMS. However, any fallback options are better than SMS. But if one of the chat participants lacks a data connection or RCS/iMessage is unavailable, the platform will automatically revert to SMS. You can prevent iMessage from switching to text messages in settings, if you wish. However, if a user does not have iMessage, switching to text messaging will occur anyway.
Crucially, that setting does not disable SMS; it merely stops iMessage from switching to SMS in a chat with another Apple user due to the inability to send an iMessage over a proper data path. You can disable RCS as well; if enabled, RCS will always revert to SMS if necessary, the least secure option on the device.
The crucial question is not whether to abandon iMessage, but whether to stop defaulting to Apple's Messages app, the SMS/RCS/iMessage client on your phone. And, yes, when the FBI advises iPhone users to avoid texting Android users, you do need an alternative app. If you wish to use another app, a fully encrypted one such as WhatsApp or Signal is recommended, making iPhone to iPhone texting more secure as well because it will always be encrypted and never fallback to any other option.
"The FBI chiming in to warn of an issue isn't surprising," commented Android Central this weekend. "In fact, it's the opposite, and I'm surprised it took so long." This should have never occurred. "Apple and Google could have, and should have, prevented this... Neither side cared about working together to help consumers like us because we were going to buy their [stuff] anyway."
A joint effort between Apple and Google to securely bridge their two platforms was required, akin to their coordination for COVID contact tracing. However, they fell short. Waiting for a fix to the standard RCS protocol is futile--too many moving parts, too many cooks, and too many potential issues.
"So what should you do?" asked Android Central this weekend. "If you live outside the U.S. or Canada, you probably don't have to do anything because you likely don't even use Google Messages or iMessage." This brings us to the heart of the FBI warning.
As I've observed before, iMessage is primarily for U.S. users, being the key market where it surpasses WhatsApp, at least for the time being. The rest of the world is already using over-the-top, mostly encrypted alternatives as their daily choices. But the FBI warning was directed at Americans, who are more likely to be using iMessage than not. If you do use iMessage, then Android Central recommends "you should stop and switch to a secure and encrypted platform like the FBI says."
You cannot yet completely discontinue using iMessage, as it will receive OTPs, marketing texts, and infrequent SMS messages from elderly relatives. But for daily messaging, a fully secure platform is recommended. At least until Apple and Google provide a cross-platform option that delivers the same function.
I have reached out to Apple for any comments on the FBI's texting warning and its implications for the iPhone user base and iMessage platform.
- The leak of iOS 18.3 features has sparked discussions, but it's important to note that the FBI still recommends using encrypted platforms like iMessage or Signal due to security concerns.
- Although Salt Typhoon predominantly targets Android users, the FBI has also advised iPhone users to consider alternatives to iMessage and SMS, as they are not fully secure.
- The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 leaks have garnered significant attention, but the focus on security and privacy due to the FBI's warning means that encryption features in these future iOS versions will likely be a major selling point.
- In the midst of the FBI text warning, the debate between iPhone vs Android users continues, with some arguing that Apple's focus on privacy and encrypted messaging is essential, while others maintain that Android offers more flexibility and customization.
- The FBI's encryption warning has also brought RCS into the spotlight, as some users consider switching to Samsung devices to ensure their messages are always protected and encrypted, regardless of the recipient's device.