Meta announced on Thursday that it is rolling out end-to-end encryption for messages and calls on Messenger and Facebook. This means that the content of messages and calls are protected from the moment they leave the device to the moment they reach the receiver’s device, preventing anyone, including Meta, from accessing them.
Meta said that it has been testing end-to-end encryption since 2016, gradually expanding privacy, safety, and control features.
In addition to end-to-end encryption, Meta also added new functionality to Messenger, such as the ability to edit messages, higher media quality, and disappearing messages.
Users can now edit messages for up to 15 minutes after they were sent, by tapping and holding on the message and selecting “Edit”. Disappearing messages on Messenger now last for 24 hours after being sent, instead of the previous seven days. Meta also made photos and videos easier to access, upgraded the image quality, added fun layouts, and introduced more controls.
Additionally, new read receipt control is also introduced, allowing users to decide if they want others to see when they have read messages. And lastly, users can also play voice messages at 1.5x or 2x speeds.
The new features are now available to users. However, it will take some time for them to reach everyone.
