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Facebook Messenger Rolls Out End-to-End Encryption by Default

LogicalApex said:
Facebook Messenger can message someone off a Meta product?

An Apple user can disable SMS fallback if they want to stay on iMessage and E2E encryption.
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And? Then that person won’t get any texts at all. SMS on or off, an Apple person will still get iMessages.
 
I’m curious how this will work on web. I’m not sure how encryption works entirely, but it seems like this is a E2E solution similar to iMessage pre-advanced-data-protection and yeah the messages themselves are encrypted when firing off but the chat log sitting on the server is wide open for fb and the government and hackers to read.

I’m very curious for more details on the technical aspects behind this new encryption by default!
 
kalafalas said:
I’m curious how this will work on web. I’m not sure how encryption works entirely, but it seems like this is a E2E solution similar to iMessage pre-advanced-data-protection and yeah the messages themselves are encrypted when firing off but the chat log sitting on the server is wide open for fb and the government and hackers to read.

I’m very curious for more details on the technical aspects behind this new encryption by default!
Click to expand...

Here is the white paper from fb:

 
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Mr. Heckles said:
And? Then that person won’t get any texts at all. SMS on or off, an Apple person will still get iMessages.
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My post was in response to a poster chiding Apple for the SMS lacking E2E and praising Meta. Since Meta products don’t support any messaging at all off their platforms it isn’t a valid comparison.

Disabling SMS fallback would make the comparison equal. So Apple is just as secure is my point.

Does disabling SMS make sense? That’s a separate discussion altogether.
 
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Sorinut said:
Here is the white paper from fb:

Click to expand...

I did take a look and I wonder (a) where Messenger stores the private, on-device, keys and (b) if there is a hidden backdoor due to things like this. Obviously we don't know but given the push notification stuff from yesterday, there is plenty going on out there. https://www.computerweekly.com/news...pted-messages-for-child-abuse-may-be-unlawful )

I know Apple stores private keys in the secure enclave and some Android phones have similar areas, but can apps write to it? I don't know the answer and google quickly wasn't much help. 🙂
 
iBluetooth said:
How can they monetize the info in the messages then?
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Suspect that if a user opts in to advertising tokens and tracking, possibly gives a green light for utilizing any other data around the message being sent. Content of the message is only a part of the package that is available. Context of messages can often shed a lot of tracking info light. Pretty sure non of the companies advocating for end-to-end is wanting to give up such a valuable cash cow, nor accept the responsibility of a malicious action hidden within their messaging platform. Always going to be options to view. Always has and always will be. No win situation. Fully hide info and open the door for bad things. Create back door access and someone will exploit for their own purposes.
 
Meta is rolling out "end-to-end encryption" for personal messages and calls on Messenger and Facebook, finally delivering on a pledge it committed to some time ago.

Fixed that for you. You're welcome.
 
Will the encryption be as bad as the one of WhatsApp, where text are encrypted, but all images are saved in folder that is accessible to all other Apps that have gallery access? At least that problem exists at Android phones.

And will that encryption also work in a browser? I will never install the Facebook Messenger on my smartphone. It actually came with the smartphone and even reinstalled itself when I deleted it. It took me a while to figure out how to get rid of it.
 
I believe them. The messages are end to end encrypted. Does that mean Facebook can't extract essential information (including the raw message content)? Of course not.

This is the problem with representing a general desire via a singular technological checkbox. We don't want "end to end encryption", we want our conversations and digital lives to be private and for us to have ultimate control over our data and how it's used. End to end encryption is simply one slice of that whole pie. E2EE has become a marketing symbol to give users peace of mind but in isolation it solves nothing. If Facebook and Google are implementing it then it means nothing because they've found a trivial workaround to get what they want whilst ticking the "end to end" box.
 
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Reverend Benny said:
Encryption...the buzzword everyone loves to use to make everything sound more secure.
"Now 3rd parties can't tap in and see what you are writing to your mates, they have to contact us directly and we'll sell the full conversation to them instead" ;-)"
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That’s not how end-to-end encryption works.
 
I have WhatsApp installed because a lot of people I know use it. But I do not give the app access to my contacts list. Unfortunately most do.

Facebook messenger might use encryption now and MIGHT not crawl what you talk about but you bet they know who you talk to and who your contacts are, including businesses around your area.

Signal is the best app that respect your privacy. But most people use WhatsApp or iMessage (in the States).
 
Anyone know if this extends to the Kids version of Messenger? My kids want it on their tablets, but I have been holding off because of privacy concerns. E2EE would maybe make it less concerning.
 
centauratlas said:
I did take a look and I wonder (a) where Messenger stores the private, on-device, keys and (b) if there is a hidden backdoor due to things like this. Obviously we don't know but given the push notification stuff from yesterday, there is plenty going on out there. https://www.computerweekly.com/news...pted-messages-for-child-abuse-may-be-unlawful )

I know Apple stores private keys in the secure enclave and some Android phones have similar areas, but can apps write to it? I don't know the answer and google quickly wasn't much help. 🙂
Click to expand...
Not just apps, but what about web browsers? Can’t you log into FB messenger and chat from any browser, how will that work?
 
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