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| Messenger adds end-to-end encryption for voice and video calls |
Facebook is adding end-to-end encryption for audio and video calls to its messaging platform. The company announced in a blog post that it will introduce the new changeover and control announcing its demise today. Some users may also see new testing features related to encryption.
The company said, "People want messaging apps to be secure and private. With these new features, we can give them more control over the privacy of calls and conversations."
In 2016, Facebook added a "secret chat" option to its app and the messaging system received end-to-end encryption of text messages.
This connection method is now supported. Facebook said people's interest in voice and video calls continues to grow, adding this feature and Messenger now receives more than 150 million video calls every day.
Facebook's WhatsApp chat app provides an end-to-end (E2EE) encrypted communication to prevent anyone other than the sender and receiver from seeing the encrypted data.
The same goes for some other video calling apps like Zoom, Signal, and FaceTime.
Facebook calls E2EE encryption the industry standard for cross messaging services. There have been rumors that the company could roll out a unified end-to-end encrypted messaging system on WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. But this has not happened yet.
Encrypt audio and video calls via Messenger
The text chat receives minor updates. If you want to send a message that will disappear, you will be presented with other options ranging from 5 seconds to 24 hours.
The function initially offers steps of 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, and 24 hours.
While everyone has seen the update above, the company is running limited beta testing on other features. Some users see an option for end-to-end encrypted group chats and calls between friends and family who already have chat threads or are online.
Others get support for existing Facebook controls without E2EE to help them understand who they can contact through Messenger.
If you are on the Instagram platform, the limited testing also gives you the option to sign up for this app's E2EE Direct Messages.