Meta has officially launched end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for individual chats and calls in Messenger, marking a significant milestone in the company’s privacy push.
“This update represents the culmination of years of work and significant re-engineering of the platform,” said Loredana Crisan, vice president of Messenger at Meta.
The new default encryption will provide an extra layer of security for personal communications, ensuring that messages and calls between users remain private.
Previously, E2EE was only available in Messenger through an opt-in feature called “secret conversations.” While Instagram also offers E2EE for messages and calls, it’s currently limited to certain regions and isn’t enabled by default.
Meta emphasized the importance of re-architecting Messenger to ensure its servers can’t decrypt messages passing through them. This required upgrading over 100 features and developing new solutions for managing message history across devices, including a novel encrypted storage system called Labyrinth.
“Labyrinth aims to address key challenges by enabling users to securely store messages server-side while maintaining strong privacy,” the company stated in a whitepaper.
The roll-out of default E2EE marks a significant step towards Meta’s vision for a more privacy-focused social networking experience. While E2EE for group chats remains in testing, this update provides users with enhanced security and control over their personal communications.
