Meta is testing end-to-end encryption for backup in Facebook Messenger

Meta is testing end-to-end encryption for backups of chats in Facebook messenger to ensure the chat history remains secure even after it is backed up on the cloud. A similar feature was rolled out to WhatsApp users last October. Meta is also working on making end-to-end encryption for chat available by default in Messenger. Currently, the feature is optional and users have to activate it to take advantage of it.

The announcement comes days after the social media company handed over private messages between a 17-year-old and her mother to law enforcement agencies in the US state of Nebraska. Vice reported that the messages were used to prosecute the teenager in an illegal abortion case abortion. Nebraska was one of the first states to ban abortion after the US Supreme Court reversed the landmark Roe vs Wade judgment of 1973.

Following this incident, Meta has received a lot of flak from privacy advocates and civil rights activists.

“We’re working hard to protect your personal messages and calls with end-to-end encryption by default on Messenger and Instagram,” Sara Su, product management director, Messenger Trust said in a blog post.

End-to-end encryption by default for chats will be initially available to users who are part of the test group.

“With end-to-end encrypted chats, secure storage means that we won’t have access to your messages unless you choose to report them to us,” Su added.

In addition to making end-to-end encryption available for backup, Meta is also working on providing multiple options to restore the messages. The company is exploring two end-to-end encrypted options, which include creating a PIN or generating a code. Users can also restore messages through third-party cloud services such as iCloud on iPhones.

Further Meta said that it is testing a bunch of other features that will give Messenger users more control. It includes the ability to sync deleted messages across all devices and recall sent messages. The ability to recall sent messages is already available on WhatsApp.

Meta also announced the optional end-to-end encryption for messages and calls on Instagram, which is under trial and is available only to users in select countries and will be expanded to more countries. The company will also add group chats to Instagram.

End-to-end encryption by default in WhatsApp has allowed Meta to resist pressure from government agencies in India to share private messages. Meta has maintained that due to the end-to-end encryption it can’t access or share the content of the messages. However, in some instances, law enforcement agencies acquired the data from the cloud backup.

With end-to-end encryption for backups, users can protect their data even when it is on the cloud.