Facebook tests new feature 'secret conversation' service for its messenger app

On Friday,Facebook plans to roll out a beta version of a new feature it calls “secret conversations.”

Just a few years ago, end-to-end encryption was a nerdy niche: a tiny collection of obscure software let you encrypt communication so only your recipient could read it, but the vast majority left you no option to hide your words from hackers or eavesdroppers. Earlier this year WhatsApp Inc. a Facebook Inc acquired Instant messaging Platform based in Mountain View, California, United States introduced End-to-End Encryption on sent messages between users now Facebook is going farther in encrypting messages sent via Facebook Messenger.
Facebook shared screenshot examples online on how the new service looks like...

Private messages ("Secret Conversation") that can disappear are being trialed by Facebook as it experiments with a new option for those using its Messenger app. They become hidden after a certain period of time chosen by the author. Facebook’s secret conversations will work only from a single device. (You have to pick which one.) End-to-end encryption requires that a unique secret key be stored on both the sender and recipient’s computer, and for now, Facebook doesn’t have a way to securely distribute that key among multiple phones, tablets and PCs. Those flagged to "disappear" will be deleted from the device as well.

"Starting a secret conversation with someone is optional"

"Secret conversations" can only be read on one device and so that in theory no one—not a snoop on your local network, not an FBI agent with a warrant, not even Facebook itself—can intercept them. For now, the feature will be available only to a small percentage of users for testing; everyone with Facebook Messenger gets it later.

"Facebook will never have access to plain text messages unless one participant in a secret conversation voluntarily reports the conversation,"

it explained in a technical document.

This is the social media giant’s first step toward bringing a core part of its main product in line with the encryption trend. Apple has used a form of end-to-end encryption in iMessage for years; Viber added the protection to its 700 million users’ messages just weeks after WhatsApp, and Google announced in May that its new messaging app Allo would offer end-to-end encryption as an option.
One key difference between Facebook’s approach and WhatsApp or Apple is the issue of opt-in encryption versus default. Facebook encrypts messages only when users choose to turn on secret conversations manually. The other two companies automatically encrypt every message, despite complaints from law enforcement agencies that the feature hampers surveillance capabilities.

Facebook’s secret conversations will use a protocol called Signal, created by the non-profit Open Whisper Systems. It’s well-known and well-tested, already used in WhatsApp, Allo, and Signal’s standalone app. Open Whisper Systems’ founder, the hacker and cryptographer Moxie Marlinspike, calls Facebook’s implementation “reasonably done,” adding that other major services may soon roll out his group’s crypto standard. “We’re continuing to work with other people,” Marlinspike says cryptically. He won’t get more specific than to say that Open Whisper Systems seeks partnerships “where we can impact the largest number of users possible.”

"Secret conversations" won’t support gifs, video, or payments yet, either. (The setting will, however, allow you to set a Snapchat-style self-destruct time limit for messages.) Post your comments below and don't forget to share it to your techy friends on Twitter, Facebook and any other by clicking the share button for more options.

READ MORE: What is ENCRYPTION?