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Facebook Messenger and Instagram won't feature encryption by default anytime soon

By Cosmin Vasile

Published: May 03, 2021, 2:45 AM

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Facebook Messenger and Instagram won't feature encryption by default anytime soon

Facebook has been quite secretive about plans to bring important security features to its social and chat apps like Messenger and Instagram, even though the giant attracted a lot of criticism due to the way it handles user privacy and data.

In an attempt to take the heat off of many of its questionable decisions, Facebook revealed its plans regarding important security features that many messaging apps already offer to their customers.

We're talking about end-to-end encryption (E2EE), a security solution that prevents potential eavesdroppers from reading messages between communicating users, including carriers, Internet provides, or, in this case, Facebook.

Currently, end-to-end encryption is available for Messenger users, but only if they switch to a special mode called “Secret Conversation.” Instagram doesn't have end-to-end encryption for messages yet, and the company hasn't even tested the feature.

In a blog post published over the weekend, Facebook explains that default end-to-end encryption for Messenger and Instagram won't be coming anytime soon (via XDA Developers).

We’re also working hard to bring default end-to-end encryption to all of our messaging services. This will protect people’s private messages and mean only the sender and recipient, not even us, can access their messages. While we expect to make more progress on default end-to-end encryption for Messenger and Instagram Direct this year, it’s a long-term project and we won’t be fully end-to-end encrypted until sometime in 2022 at the earliest.

Default end-to-end encryption means that you won't have to switch to a different mode to have your conversations encrypted, a very important feature to have these days when corporations like to eavesdrop. What's really surprising is that Facebook isn't able to provide default end-to-end encryption to its Messenger and Instagram users until at least 2022, even if it claims that it's a long-term project.

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Cosmin, a tech journalist with a career spanning over a decade, brought a wealth of experience to PhoneArena. His expertise lies in brands like Samsung and Nokia, and he has a keen interest in innovative technologies. After a brief stint in PR, Cosmin returned to tech journalism in 2016, committed to delivering clear and objective news. When he's not writing or appearing as a guest on TV and radio shows, Cosmin enjoys playing RPGs, watching Netflix, and nurturing his passion for history and travel.