It's that time of year again! Fall is settling in, schools are starting their sessions, and football season is kicking off. What excites us most, however, is the highly anticipated release of the new iPhone 16 lineup and iOS 18. If you've been following our coverage of iOS 18 and the RCS compliance issues, you might be feeling apprehensive about the launch of iOS 18. We’ve raised concerns through various channels, even reducing our set-up fees for our RCS and iMessage Capture Solutions.
We conducted our own investigation into the implications of iOS 18 for non-FirmScribe customers and decided to create a guide addressing its impact on regulated firms. To clarify the key points, we have divided the guide into two main sections: Compliance Risks and Technical Nightmares.
First, let's explore RCS, or Rich Communication Services, and the advantages it offers to iPhone users. In simple terms, RCS introduces features such as read receipts, large message attachments, typing indicators, and enhanced group messaging for communications between iPhone and non-iPhone users. Essentially, it allows many iMessage features to function seamlessly with non-iPhones.
While this is a feature that many users have been eagerly anticipating, it has also highlighted a lack of capture technology among our competitors, leading to what we have termed Y2K 2.0: the RCS iOS 18 Compliance Nightmare.
We have been asking ourselves the same question. From what we found in our investigation and conversations with others in the market. The majority of text message archiving providers rely on carrier based capture capabilities. This means major providers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile capture the message at the network level and send them to the archive provider. All major archiving providers have some sort of carrier based capture solution in place today.
What happened next left us in disbelief. Surprisingly, it was revealed in the final week of August that none of the RCS messages would be captured by the carrier, which meant they could not be archived. The emails notifying users of this issue were not only panic-inducing but also presented non-scalable workarounds, which we have detailed below:
At FirmScribe, we have observed a familiar pattern in the rhetoric we've encountered over the years: “Just disable it,” “Just block it,” and the most ludicrous suggestion, “Talk to your carrier.” None of these options represent well-considered solutions, and it is unrealistic to believe they could be implemented effectively on a large scale.
History has demonstrated that the block/disable approach has proven ineffective, leading to billions of dollars in fines due to these prohibition-style measures. The companies affected are primarily financial institutions, not technology firms. However, the technology companies they rely on have yet to deliver a scalable solution that can be effectively enforced.
Like previously mentioned, we broke our report down into two areas: The Compliance Gaps and The Technology Nightmares.
As we prepare to order our new iPhones and explore the exciting features of iOS 18.0, we find ourselves grappling with mixed emotions. While we share a sense of anticipation for ourselves and our customers, we also feel concerned for those affected by this significant oversight from the industry's major players.
If you've been following our journey, you know that many companies have faced a rollercoaster of challenges during this uncertain period. At FirmScribe, we stand ready to help and implement a compliant proof solution.
Clock is ticking….
