Meta announced today it is expanding its end-to-end encryption test to individual Messenger chats. Starting this week, selected users will see their most frequent chats automatically protected by end-to-end encryption.
Meta says “you won’t have to opt in to the feature.” Which means it is introducing it by default though users will still have access to their message history, “but any new messages or calls with that person will be end-to-end encrypted.”
With end-to-end encryption, Meta cannot see the content of its users’ chats. It also makes it almost impossible for hackers to eavesdrop on user’s conversations.
End-to-End encryption is currently available on Facebook Messenger only that users need to enable the feature on a per-chat basis. Making end-to-end encryption the default mode is a great step by Meta: as it will add a significant layer of protection to a chat platform used by over a billion people across the world.
Though Meta has gradually added more layers of encryption to its many chat platforms, but its efforts have not yet been consolidated. WhatsApp chats are encrypted by default, using the same protocol as the industry-standard secure messenger Signal; opt-in encryption for Instagram DMs is now being tested; and Messenger supports E2EE via its “disappearing messages” feature.
In addition, the company is testing secure storage for encrypted chats. Secure Storage helps you back up those messages in case you lose your phone or want to restore your message history on a new, supported device. “As with end-to-end encrypted chats,” Meta notes, “secure storage means that we won’t have access to your messages, unless you choose to report them to us.”
As the above image shows, users will need to create a PIN or generate codes in order to access their backups using security storage. These two are end-to-end encrypted options that add an additional layer of security. However, users can also use cloud services to recover chats – for example, individuals with iOS devices can use iCloud to store the secret key required to retrieve their backups.
Meta will also begin testing secure storage this week, but only on Android and iOS. It is still not accessible for Messenger on the web or for unencrypted chats.
Meta’s other upcoming tests include adding standard Messenger capabilities to end-to-end encrypted talks. It plans to test the ability to unsend messages and send replies to Facebook Stories as encrypted chats, as well as add end-to-end encrypted calls to Messenger’s Calls Tab.
Furthermore, Meta is introducing Code Verify, an open-source browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. As the name suggests, it may validate the Messenger website’s web code and confirm that it hasn’t been tampered with. Instagram is eliminating the app’s non-encrypted disappear mode chats, while also expanding ongoing experiments for opt-in end-to-end encrypted messaging and calls on the site.
All of these are a part of Meta’s preparations as it moves closer to adopting end-to-end encryption as the default for all chats and calls to its services globally. Before its planned rollout, which is set for sometime in 2023, it intends to start even more tests and modifications.
