Texting between iPhone and Android used to be a chaotic experience, but things started improving when Apple embraced the Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard with iOS 18. RCS brought a bunch of useful features like high-quality image sharing, typing indicators, and read receipts. 
While some of these features didn’t work across platforms, both Google and Apple have been working together to fix that.
One of the newest updates is the ability to edit messages, which Google first rolled out for Android users last year
. Now, this feature is slowly becoming available for Android users texting iPhone users as well.
Initially, when Google launched the feature for Android users, it wasn’t part of the RCS standard. Apple’s RCS messaging on iOS used Universal Profile 2.4, which didn’t include message editing. This limited Android users to only being able to edit messages they sent to fellow Android users. However, with the release of Universal Profile 3.0 in April, message editing became part of the spec, paving the way for cross-platform message edits. This update is now being gradually rolled out.
According to Android Authority, Android users can now edit messages sent to iPhone users by long-pressing a message, which will reveal a pencil icon. Tapping on the icon will bring up the original message in the reply box, where you can make changes and send the revised version. The message will be tagged as ‘Edited,’ and the same 15-minute editing window applies.
The feature is already supported in iOS 18.5 and the iOS 26 beta, and it works for both individual and group chats. However, the implementation for iPhone users is a bit clunky. On iOS, edited messages will appear as new messages instead of replacing the original one, and they will be marked with an asterisk to indicate they were edited.
Currently, iPhone users still can’t edit messages sent to Android phones. The good news is that Apple plans to support Universal Profile 3.0, which will bring end-to-end encryption, but it’s unclear when that will roll out.
For now, texting between Android and iPhone users may return to being a bit awkward, especially since Android users can take back their messages, but iPhone users can’t do the same.