Those who use services like WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal are used to hearing the expression “end-to-end encryption”. This is, in essence, a security feature that promises to protect user data, meaning that only the sender and recipient actually access the content (and not the medium).
End-to-end encryption reaches voice and video calls in Messenger
Now Facebook Messenger has just released the ability to make voice and video calls with end-to-end encryption, and it also releases improved controls for disappearing messages.
Since 2016 Messenger already gives you the possibility of having end-to-end encryption in messages, through “secret conversations”. With more than 150 million video calls made in the last year, the Facebook-owned service thought it was time to add this new feature.
As soon as you open what Messenger calls a “secret conversation”, you will have the possibility to make audio and video calls there too, with the security that many want.
“The content of your messages and calls in an end-to-end encrypted conversation is protected from the moment it leaves your device until it reaches the recipient’s device. This means that no one else, including Facebook, can see or hear what is being sent or said. Remember that you can inform us of an end-to-end encrypted message if something goes wrong, ”Facebook explains in a statement.
More control over messages that disappear in Messenger
When it comes to disappearing messages, users also have more control. Now it can vary between 5 seconds and 24 hours, depending on how long you want them to be visible.
As of the writing of this article, the news is not yet available. It should be a matter of days before they are released for everyone.