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Facebook Inc (FB.O)
on Friday said it began testing end-to-end encryption on its popular
Messenger application to prevent snooping on digital conversations.
on Friday said it began testing end-to-end encryption on its popular
Messenger application to prevent snooping on digital conversations.
The
limited testing on Messenger, which has more than 900 million users,
comes three months after Facebook rolled out end-to-end encryption to
its more popular WhatsApp, a messaging application with over 1 billion
users that it acquired in October 2014.
limited testing on Messenger, which has more than 900 million users,
comes three months after Facebook rolled out end-to-end encryption to
its more popular WhatsApp, a messaging application with over 1 billion
users that it acquired in October 2014.
The
move comes amid widespread global debate over the extent to which
technology companies should help law enforcement snoop on digital
communications.
move comes amid widespread global debate over the extent to which
technology companies should help law enforcement snoop on digital
communications.
End-to-end encryption is also offered on Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iMessage platform as well as apps including LINE, Signal, Viber, Telegram and Wickr.
Facebook
Messenger uses the same encryption technology as WhatsApp, which uses a
protocol known as Signal that was developed by privately held Open
Whisper Systems.
“It
seems well designed,” said Matthew Green, a Johns Hopkins University
cryptologist who helped review an early version of the protocol for
Facebook.
seems well designed,” said Matthew Green, a Johns Hopkins University
cryptologist who helped review an early version of the protocol for
Facebook.
While
WhatsApp messages are encrypted by default, Facebook Messenger users
must turn on the feature to get the extra additional security
protection, which scrambles communications so they can only be read on
devices at either end of a conversation.
WhatsApp messages are encrypted by default, Facebook Messenger users
must turn on the feature to get the extra additional security
protection, which scrambles communications so they can only be read on
devices at either end of a conversation.
Facebook
said that it was requiring users to opt in to encryption because the
extra security is not compatible with some widely used Messenger
features.
said that it was requiring users to opt in to encryption because the
extra security is not compatible with some widely used Messenger
features.
“Many
people want Messenger to work when you switch between devices, such as a
tablet, desktop computer or phone,” the company said in an announcement
on its website. “Secret conversations can only be read on one device
and we recognize that experience may not be right for everyone.”
people want Messenger to work when you switch between devices, such as a
tablet, desktop computer or phone,” the company said in an announcement
on its website. “Secret conversations can only be read on one device
and we recognize that experience may not be right for everyone.”
Facebook also said that Messenger users cannot send videos or make payments in encrypted conversations.
Christopher
Soghoian, principal technologist at the ACLU, called on Facebook to
commit to rolling out encryption by default once it irons out any bugs
in the new technology.
Soghoian, principal technologist at the ACLU, called on Facebook to
commit to rolling out encryption by default once it irons out any bugs
in the new technology.
“Encryption is best when it is hidden, invisible to the user and turned on by default,” said Soghoian.
Reuters
