News hardware Facebook Messenger steals its flagship feature from WhatsApp
Published on 08/12/2022 at 19:05
After WhatsApp, Meta is attacking the security of discussions carried out via Facebook Messenger. Many features are being tested, and timing matters.
Meta clearly has a lot to do with the personal data of users of its various services. It will not have escaped anyone that WhatsApp, one of the group’s instant messaging applications, has recently benefited from regular updates aimed at protecting the privacy of those who use it.
The last days, it was Facebook Messenger that found itself targeted by privacy advocates. The reason for this is quite tragic : the social network Facebook is accused of having helped the American police to arrest a 17-year-old young woman who had a late abortion in the State of Nebraska. The platform provided private messages to authorities.
If the exchanges made on Facebook Messenger had been encrypted end-to-end by default, as is the case on many instant messaging platforms, their sharing would have been impossible. Coincidence of the calendar or not, Meta today evokes the upcoming arrival of this feature within Facebook Messenger.
WhatsApp encrypted backups coming to Facebook Messenger
In a blog post published on August 11Meta announces that it has launched test phases to provide “secure storage on Messenger”. This new feature will allow users to benefit from end-to-end encrypted backups of their exchanges made on the platform.
But that’s not all, sincein addition to actual backups, all Facebook Messenger chats should automatically benefit from this treatment from 2023. And this proposal is not just regarding Facebook.
“People want to know that their online conversations with friends and family are private and secure. We work hard to protect your personal messages and calls with default end-to-end encryption on Messenger and Instagram. Today, we’re announcing our plans to test a new secure storage feature for your end-to-end encrypted chat backups on Messenger, along with other updates and tests to deliver the best experience on Messenger and Instagram. »
The goal of Meta is to allow users of Facebook Messenger, and therefore Instagram, to retain full control over access to their chats. To do this, a unique encryption key will be used to secure access to messages. The user will be asked to create a six-digit code that will allow him to recover access to his discussions and his archives even in the case of a change of smartphone. Without this code, it will simply be impossible to read messages, including for Meta staff.
This modification of the functioning of Facebook Messenger requires a major overhaul of the infrastructures linked to the messaging system. This largely explains why Meta does not intend to offer this novelty before 2023 on its various platforms. However, you may see a message that one of your chats is encrypted in the next few months.because the company will gradually expand its test randomly among its users over the months.
