What is the new end-to-end encryption in Messenger and How does it affect you The end-to-end encryption feature has been enabled by default in the Facebook Messenger social network app. Previously, the company has made this feature that the user can start by himself as per the need, saying that it is suitable for privacy.
You may also have noticed the message that end-to-end encryption is applied while chatting on Messenger. What is end-to-end encryption, and why is it useful for users? Today, we are discussing this topic.
From the moment you open your smartphone or other smart device and access the online world, your data is being tracked by many parties. The data you provide to various platforms while taking online services is sold by those companies or platforms to advertisers and various parties.
However, even these phones cannot provide any kind of security for the data you provide on the Internet.
However, it is almost impossible to protect the data you keep online from unauthorized access. However, you can encrypt your data to keep it safe, so that no one but you can understand it. Yes, this is why ‘encryption’ has proved to be the backbone of online communication.
What is end-to-end encryption?
Before understanding what end-to-end encryption is, we need to know its basic aspects. Encryption is a system that makes any data unintelligible to an unwanted person or group. However, your data can be understood by the official party.
For example, suppose you want to send a message to one of your friends. The message you send does not reach your friend’s device directly.
After you send a message, the message is sent to various online infrastructures, such as the internet service provider, the messaging app’s server, and various other parties connected between you and your friend.
End-to-end encryption uses ‘asymmetric public key’ (asymmetric public key) encryption. Where both parties have two keys. Here it means a key, which is used by a mathematical algorithm to encrypt or decrypt a message. There is one that is public, to which anyone can have access.
However, private or private is such a truth that is not shared with anyone. The public key is used to encode the message, while the private key is used to decode the encrypted message. When someone wants to send you an encrypted message, the application they use uses the public key to encrypt the message. The encrypted message is transmitted through the Internet.
All devices that are end-to-end encrypted have a special key to keep conversations secure. When you send a message in an end-to-end conversation, your device locks the message while it is being sent. The message can only be unlocked by a device that has access to the conversation key.
In general, no one other than you and the person you’re chatting with can access your messages in between.
PIN to access encrypted chat!
You may have seen Facebook ask you to enter a PIN when you open it in your browser. Facebook is asking you to put a PIN on Messenger to keep your chats encrypted. You’ve logged into Facebook on another device, but you can’t read encrypted chats if you don’t have a PIN.
For example, WhatsApp implemented end-to-end encryption in 2016. When you try to login to your WhatsApp account on another device, all the previous messages disappear. If you have a backup on your Google Drive, you can access the previous chats. But if there is no backup, it cannot be done.
Advantages and disadvantages of end-to-end encryption
It has been mentioned above that each type of encryption has its own advantages and challenges. End-to-end encryption has many advantages and challenges.
This means that there can certainly be some challenges when you use end-to-end encryption.
Advantages:
In end-to-end encryption, data is encrypted or decrypted only at the end point, making it impossible for hackers or government agencies to view your data.
It can be especially useful for journalists, activists, and ordinary people who do not want others to know about their conversations.
Privacy
Your privacy is protected when messaging or storing data on a platform with end-to-end encryption.
Security
No government agency can force the service provider to show your private messages. Because no one has access to the decrypted chat. So your message is safe.
Credibility
End-to-end encryption ensures that no one but the sender knows the message you receive.
Secure remote work
After the COVID-19 epidemic, the trend of working mostly at home increased. For companies, end-to-end encryption helps ensure that data exchanged by employees is secure.
Disadvantages:
Use more resources
To keep user data safe, the platform uses multiple resources to implement end-to-end encryption. To encrypt the data and decrypt it again, a large data transfer is required, which requires a lot of resources.
Inspections are reduced
If different users have sent messages using the end-to-end encryption feature, it is not possible to regulate such messages. Therefore, groups or individuals with wrong intentions misuse such features.
Lost data is not recoverable
If data is stored on a platform with end-to-end encryption or messages are sent from such a platform, lost data cannot be recovered. Since the data is encrypted in the middle, it is almost impossible to decrypt such data. If you forget your code or lose your device, you won’t be able to access the encrypted chat on another device.
You know who you’re talking to
Even if you don’t know what you’re talking about, the various parties in the middle may know who you’re talking to.
You know who you’re talking to
Even if you don’t know what you’re talking about, the various parties in the middle may know who you’re talking to.
A complicated process
You must use a special key or PIN to access the end-to-end encrypted chat on another device. You may not have access to that PIN or particular above in all cases. So this process may seem complicated to you.
Apart from Messenger, which other apps have end-to-end encryption?
Recently, most of the messaging apps and data storage apps on the market have encryption features.
If you also want to send an encrypted message or want to receive an encrypted message, you can use platforms like Signal, Threema, WhatsApp, Telegram, Wire, and Google Message.