Share This Article
Apple seems all set to launch iOS 18.2 this week, bringing the long-awaited release of feature-rich Apple Intelligence tools held back from iOS 18’s launch in the fall. But the next iPhone firmware release also brings the most surprising update in years—a change to how your iPhone works and—finally—an end to those pesky green bubbles.
The saga of green bubbles versus blue bubbles is very much an American thing—the US has been the only significant market which has held WhatsApp at bay, and clearly when your entire social network moves to WhatsApp—whether on iPhone or Android, all users look the same. It’s refreshingly democratic and socially leveling.
That said, Americans are trying it. Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrated WhatApp hitting the 100 million US users milestone in the summer, and those of you in the US will have noticed the billboards and Modern Family ads pointing out the benefits of seamless, secure cross-platform messaging.
None of which actually killed the green bubbles. It seems that this will come down to two government players—China’s Ministry of State Security and America’s FBI. The Chinese started it—not actually MSS themselves, but one of its arm’s length hacking groups which managed to infiltrate US telco networks. The FBI then understandably warned that US citizens should stop sending unsecured text messages.
That’s what those green bubbles are of course. They weren’t actually designed to distinguish social standing amongst teen and gen-z users. What they actually highlight it a lack of end-to-end encryption. To put it simply, blue is secure and green is not. It doesn’t matter if it’s old school SMS green or new kid on the block RCS green. Blue is still secure and green is still not. And so, when the FBI warns Americans to stop sending unsecured text messages, they mean green bubbles.
