‘Confusing’—Apple Changes iPhone Green Bubbles After 15 Years

InnovationCybersecurity‘Confusing’—Apple Changes iPhone Green Bubbles After 15 YearsByZak Doffman, Contributor. Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Zak Doffman writes about cybersecurity, surveillance and privacy.Follow AuthorMay 15, 2026, 12:44am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.All change for iPhone — almost.gettyAs Apple’s long-awaited iMessage change goes live on more iPhones around the world, users are now warned this does not deliver the update they likely expect. Encrypted messaging should be simpler than before. But it’s actually more complex. And that’s a major security risk. All change for iPhone — almost.gettyAs Apple Insider points out, “sending media to Android is better, but everything else is more confusing and frustrating than ever." That’s because, when using RCS, "you have to consider the device each person is using, the software version, the carriers in use, and whether or not end-to-end encryption has been enabled. You don’t have that problem with iMessage. It just works.” The biggest issue of all, though, is the bubbles. From 2011 until this month’s iOS 26.5, messaging on iPhone had a simple rule. A blue bubble meant content was fully secured, a green bubble meant it was not. But now, any green bubble might be fully secured. Or it might not. You need to check. A blue bubble now just means it’s an iMessage between Apple users, which the iMaker says “remains the best way to communicate between Apple devices.” Theoretically, a fully encrypted RCS message should be as secure as an iMessage, but that’s not good enough for a blue bubble, apparently. MORE FOR YOU“I’m happy that RCS exists and it is moving towards universal end-to-end encryption,” Apple Insider says, “I just wish this whole thing wasn’t so finicky. No one should ever think about what chat protocol they are using in 2026, yet Apple’s green/blue bubbles do exactly that.” Forbes‘Avoid Disruption’—Microsoft Updates Windows Before June DeadlineBy Zak DoffmanReflecting on the response to Apple’s and Google’s sync’d updates, it could be that the pointlessness of blue bubbles becomes the key take away. If Apple were to extend the color demarcation to cover fully encrypted RCS messaging, that would be useful and consistent with past practice. But for now, green bubbles mean you must look twice and check the detail before sending. Not ideal. Editorial StandardsReprints & PermissionsLOADING VIDEO PLAYER...FORBES’ FEATURED Video