Apple Is Doing Its Part to End Green Bubble Shaming. It’s Our Turn.

For more than a decade, smartphone users everywhere have faced a major problem in how we communicate: the “green versus blue bubble” disparity.

When iPhone users send texts to other iPhones, the messages appear blue and can tap into exclusive perks like fun emojis and animations. But if an iPhone user texts an Android user, the bubble turns green, many features break, and photos and videos deteriorate in quality.

Over time, the annoyance and frustration that built up between blue and green bubbles evolved into more than a tech problem. It created a deeper sociological divide between people who judged one another by their phones. The color of a bubble became a symbol that some believe reflects status and wealth, given a perception that only wealthy people buy iPhones.

Now part of this problem will soon be addressed.

This month, Apple announced that it would improve the technology used to send texts between iPhone and Android users, starting next year, by adopting a standard that Google and others integrated into their messaging apps years ago. Texts sent between iPhones and Androids will remain green, but images and videos will look higher-quality and security features like encryption may eventually arrive, Apple said.

But that’s where the good news ends. The bubble culture war is far from over.

On dating apps, green-bubble users are often rejected by the blues. Adults with iPhones have been known to privately snicker to one another when a green bubble taints a group chat. In schools, a green bubble is an invitation for mockery and exclusion by children with iPhones, according to Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that focuses on technology’s impact on families.

“This green-versus-blue issue is a form of cyberbullying,” said Jim Steyer, the chief executive of Common Sense, which works with thousands of schools that have shared stories about tensions among children using messaging apps.