Facebook’s parent company Meta has a feature for Messenger called Secret conversation, providing end-to-end encryption that doesn’t save chats on cloud servers. Now, these messages don’t have to be dull with blue/gray bubbles on a white background – Meta introduced customizations for the chats.
Different users in the secret conversation can set nicknames, chat themes, custom emojis and reactions, and group photos – pretty much all features that made regular chats different and unique for every friend and group of friends.
Other changes include link preview, active status, and even Bubbles on Android. That’s right – Messenger and Meta cannot read and store your messages, but they can still be shown around your phone’s UI provided the app is running.
It is key to mention that secret conversations are device-limited, meaning they can appear only on the smartphone or computer that had set up the encrypted connection. However, they are transferrable through unique keys.
General end-to-end encryption is also being tested for default conversations, Meta revealed in the same press release. The company “has spent time building a team of talented engineers, cryptologists, designers, and policy experts” who are all working on the new feature.
Over the next few months, more people will gradually see some of their chats upgraded with an extra layer of protection, and Messenger will notify each chat and thread.
