Facebook Messenger, the messaging app that has 900 million users, is testing end-to-end encryption.
Facebook said Friday that it s doing limited testing of secret conversations in Messenger, joining other messaging services that provide users with secure communications that aren t meant to be accessed by anyone else, such as Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Apple s iMessage, Google s Allo and more.
The conversations will be end-to-end encrypted and… can only be read on one device of the person you re communicating with, Facebook said in a blog post. That means the messages are intended just for you and the other person — not anyone else, including us. This also means law enforcement officials, some of whom have spoken out against the rise of encryption technology that they say makes their investigations harder.
Messenger s secret conversations will be opt-in — users must turn on the feature — and the messages can be read on only one device.
Facebook already is being criticized for not turning on encryption by default.
Opt-in encryption favors educated users who have the time to learn about obscure security settings. Not cool Facebook.
— Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) July 8, 2016
Soghoian, of the ACLU, also echoed other sentiment that Facebook is bowing to FBI wishes.
Facebook isn t alone in getting flak for choosing the opt-in route. Allo s encryption isn t enabled by default, either, and critics of Google s decision included Edward Snowden.
Facebook says that for the encrypted messages, it s using the Signal Protocol developed by San Francisco-based nonprofit Open Whisper Systems.
Above: Screenshots of Facebook Messenger s secret conversations (Facebook)
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