'Taken our time to get this right': Meta to roll out end-to-end encryption for Facebook & Instagram

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms will now start fully encrypting messages on its social media platforms by default.

Announcing the launch, Loredana Crisan, Head of Messenger on the Meta website said, "We take our responsibility to protect your messages seriously, and we’re thrilled that after years of investment and testing, we’re able to launch a safer, more secure and private service."

Here's what to expect from Meta's new update

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From this week onwards, the social media giantwill begin automatically shifting Facebook users to end-to-end encryption for their messages. The global rollout, she said, will "take a number of months to complete".

Facebook Messenger had the option for users to turn on end-to-end encryption since 2016. However, now this will be the default setting for both calls and messages.

On Instagram, too, users will be shifted to Meta's new end-to-end encryption by default.

What is end-to-end encryption?

The encryption feature secures communication, making it so that messages etc. can only be read by the sender and the recipient. This can help keep users safe from hackers, fraudsters, and criminals.

Users will be prompted to set up a PIN for the recovery of the encrypted messages in case they lose, change or add a device.

Meta's product WhatsApp, another popular instant messaging app, introduced the feature back in 2014, completing the rollout in April 2016.

Crisan says that Meta "has taken years to deliver because we've taken our time to get this right."

"Our engineers, cryptographers, designers, policy experts and product managers have worked tirelessly to rebuild Messenger features from the ground up. We’ve introduced new privacy, safety and control features along the way like delivery controls that let people choose who can message them, as well as app lock, alongside existing safety features like report, block and message requests," she added.

The change means that Facebook and Instagram users would not have to turn on the encryption feature, which allows a message to be read only by the sender and its recipients.

What other features have been introduced?

Messenger users can now edit their messages for up to 15 minutes after sending them. Disappearing messages on the application will now last for 24 hours.

Furthermore, to increase privacy controls, Messenger will now allow users to control their read receipts. Additionally, there is an upgrade to the quality of images users can share, along with the introduction of "added fun layouts".

Another feature similar to that available in WhatsApp is that voice messages can now be sped up to 1.5x and 2x speeds.

End-to-end encryption has been a bone of contention between companies and governments. The British government had urged Meta back in September not to roll out encryption on Instagram and Facebook Messenger without safety measures to protect children from sexual abuse.