Facebook has announced the launch of end-to-end (E2E) encrypted voice and video calls, something it has been testing for a while, on its Messenger service. Messenger already provides E2E encryption on all text messages you send, but with the latest update you will secure the audio and visual side of your communications.
This update comes with updated delete controls so you have more options for how long you want your messages to be accessible.
Note that Facebook does not encrypt your regular messages. You must press "i" in the conversation you want and then select "Go to secret conversation". All messages sent from there will be encrypted. From today, these secret chat windows will support both voice and video calls.
Facebook started testing secret conversations five years ago, but because of COVID-19, it saw a sharp increase in voice and video calls. For this reason, it decided to launch these services to give users more privacy. Of course the company strives to make people gain more confidence in the Facebook brand.
Disappearing messages is another option for secret conversations. With today's update, users will have more options in the amount of time they want to see a message. You can now choose to have the messages disappear in five seconds and up to the next 24 hours.
In upcoming updates, Facebook will enable end-to-end encrypted group chats and video calls in Messenger as well as Instagram DMs. Some users are already seeing the new additions. If you do not see them they will be released for everyone soon.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
