Facebook Messenger’s end-to-end encrypted conversations and calls have far more features, according to Meta. Consumers had to pick amongst E2EE and keep all features accessible on a chat for the past 8 years, but that is no longer the case.
Facebook Messenger is now introducing additional functionality for end-to-end encrypted chats, as per Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In his words, ”New update for end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats so you get a notification if someone screenshots a disappearing message. We’re also adding GIFs, stickers, and reactions to encrypted chats too.”
End-to-end encryption isn’t enabled by default in Facebook Messenger chats, so you’ll need to enable it. When you begin a new conversation, for instance, you can choose to use encrypted chat or switch the lock icon. In any case, Meta is now allowing encrypted chats to include GIFs, emoticons, and replies. Long-pressing can also be used to respond or forward messages. It is also noted that Encrypted chats now allow certified flags so that people can identify real accounts.
Finally, a new Snapchat-style screenshot alert has been added. If you capture a screenshot while in an end-to-end encrypted conversation, Messenger will notify the other users in the conversation that a screenshot has been captured. Despite certain enhancements to Messenger’s E2EE, Meta still intends to encrypt all talks by 2023 when it merges Instagram and Messenger discussions.
Antigone Davis, Meta’s worldwide head of security, spoke about the company’s efforts to provide a more secure network in an opinion piece published in The Telegraph last year: “At Meta, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp, we know people expect us to use the most secure technology available which is why all of the personal messages you send on WhatsApp are already end-to-end encrypted and why we’re working to make it the default across the rest of our apps.”
Meta had originally said that end-to-end encrypted conversation will be available by 2022 at the earliest, however that has since changed. “We’re taking our time to get this right and we don’t plan to finish the global rollout of end-to-end encryption by default across all our messaging services until sometime in 2023,” he added further.
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