#Lite messenger for facebook privacy code#

“People should be able to communicate securely and privately with friends and loved ones without anyone-including Facebook-listening to or monitoring their conversations,” Facebook’s Jay Sullivan told a senate committee in 2019. Last year, Facebook told me that it remains “very committed to making Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default,” and that the timing “is consistent with what we’ve said since the launch-that it’s going to take time and we’re committed to doing this right.” The company also emphasized its defense of such encryption before lawmakers. What we have seen, though, is the beginning of that integration, starting with Messenger and Instagram, with no security improvements in sight.

#Lite messenger for facebook privacy code#

But two years on, we have seen no tangible progress, bar secret conversations, disappearing messages and some beta WhatsApp code that suggests a messaging gateway under development. MORE FROM FORBES If These Dangerous 'Rogue' Apps Are On Your Phone, Delete Them Now By Zak DoffmanĪt the time, this signaled concerns for WhatsApp users but also led to reports that Messenger would become end-to-end encrypted-a major improvement. This followed on from the first reports into Facebook’s plans to integrate WhatsApp with Messenger and Instagram’s DMs, creating a messaging behemoth serving almost 3 billion users. Back in 2019, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg argued that private messaging would become the new normal, replacing the social need to share everything, everywhere. This brings me to the serious new problem that is likely to impact Messenger users-the reason you should now switch to an alternative. One of the ironies of the WhatsApp backlash is that users are leaving WhatsApp, which is default end-to-end encrypted, for Telegram, which is not. Facebook has ironically become the world’s most powerful advocate for its use in messaging, contesting lawmakers who argue for mandatory backdoors.ĭon’t take end-to-end encryption for granted-the fact that we can call and message from anywhere in the world, safe from the network probes of governments and bad actors, is a huge plus. Facebook itself has warned of the risks when such encryption is not available, and WhatsApp deserves great credit for universalizing access, making end-to-end encryption available to 2 billion users. This should be the default for any messaging platform you use. It’s this lack of end-to-end encryption that makes Messenger a no-go for me. When it is selected, it stops Facebook snooping on your messages and downloading your links and attachments. ” Unlike WhatsApp, though, this only supports messages between two people, not within groups and not switched on by default. “We will never weaken this security.” Messenger users can also benefit from this same level of security, but only in “ secret conversations. “Your personal messages are protected by end-to-end encryption,” WhatsApp emphasized in its fightback. MORE FROM FORBES Signal Vs Telegram-3 Things You Need To Know Before You Quit WhatsApp By Zak Doffman This issue with Messenger accessing your private information is easily solved-that’s what end-to-end encryption is all about. We saw a perfect illustration of Facebook Messenger’s scant regard for your privacy when researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakr, of iOS clipboard fame, disclosed that it was downloading private file attachments sent between users to its own servers, as well as links to file shares and websites. And Facebook definitely does share all its metadata with itself, another claim WhatsApp has contested for its own users and metadata. Facebook admits that it monitors the content sent in private messages between users.

WhatsApp’s main defense against the backlash has been “we cannot see your private messages… and neither can Facebook.” No such luck, though, if you’re a Messenger user.