How to enable end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger
Privacy when exchanging messages can be achieved even without installing special applications. If many chats with relatives and friends or work chats are in Facebook Messenger, it is not necessary to move them somewhere. To keep your data secure, you can enable end-to-end encryption (E2EE).
End-to-end encryption means that no one, not even Meta, can read the message. The account on each side of the chat is assigned a special key, so only the account with that key can decrypt messages. End-to-end encryption is now available as an option in Messenger.
Meta has announced that they want to make it enabled by default, but until that happens, you can enable it in a few steps.
How to enable end-to-end encryption in a new chat
- In the Messenger application, select “Chats” from the bottom menu
- Click the pen icon in the upper right corner
- Enable the lock icon in the upper right corner
- Choose the person you want to chat with.
How to enable end-to-end encryption in an existing chat
- In the chat, click the information icon in the upper right corner
- Select “Go to secret conversation”
Also here you can enable the mode of disappearing messages by setting the time when they should be deleted after viewing.
Note that some accounts, such as companies and public figures, cannot use end-to-end encryption. Also, encrypted conversation settings apply only to specific devices. If you go to your account on another device and continue the conversation there, end-to-end encryption will need to be enabled again.