End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a security feature that ensures that only the sender and recipient of a message can read its contents, and not even the company that provides the messaging service can access it. In the case of Facebook Messenger, E2EE means that Metas servers wont be able to read your communications, only the sender and receiver can read end-to-end encrypted messages in plain text.
Facebook Messenger has had the option to chat with end-to-end encryption since 2016, but it was not enabled by default. However, Meta has been building and testing the feature for Messenger for a number of years and says that the transition has required major changes to its technical infrastructure. As of August 2023, millions more peoples chats on Messenger have been upgraded to stronger encryption standards as part of Metas ongoing E2EE testing, and the company remains on track to launch default E2EE for one-to-one friends and family chats on Messenger by the end of the year.
To enable E2EE for a conversation in Messenger, users need to turn on the feature for each chat individually. Once enabled, the conversation will be encrypted, and only the participants in the conversation will be able to read the messages. However, it is important to note that an encrypted conversation can only be between the people in that conversation and the devices they are using.
In addition to E2EE, Facebook Messenger has also been adding new features to end-to-end encrypted chats, including chat themes, custom chat emojis and reactions, group profile photos, link previews, and active status.
