14 DAY TRIAL // End to end encryption of Messenger's audio and video calls has finally been rolled out by Facebook after much anticipation, according to Tech Crunch.
Since 2016, text messages sent through Facebook's top messaging service have been benefiting from end-to-end encryption (E2EE), a feature that prevents third parties from viewing the content of the chats. The company decided to expand the protection for voice and video chats on Messenger, as well as text messages and other kinds of data transfer, such as WhatsApp for instance.
In a blog post, Ruth Kricheli, Messenger's director of product management, explained that end-to-end encryption is already extensively used in applications such as WhatsApp to protect personal communications from cybercriminals and hackers. He emphasizes that this might become the industry standard in the near future.
Messenger users will soon benefit from the new privacy features
Facebook doesn't plan to stop here and even has some E2EE-related plans in the near future. For starters, in the coming weeks, they want to begin public end-to-end encryption tests in Messenger for group chats and calls. Moreover, they intend to conduct a limited E2EE test on Instagram direct messaging in the coming months. During the test phase for both features, participants will be able to opt into encrypted end-to-end texting and request one-on-one discussions over the photo-sharing website.
In a move that is akin to the temporary communication feature of Facebook's WhatsApp, the social networking giant has improved its expiring messaging feature. Chatters may now choose how long they wish to wait before all fresh messages are removed, which is a welcome improvement. The time spans range from 5 seconds to 24 hours.
According to Kricheli, the new features offer more choice in how much privacy individuals want when chatting or calling, taking into account that they want their messaging apps to be secure and confidential.