Facebook first announced about this feature in July.
AB Wire
Facebook Messenger has now started rolling out an end-to-end encryption feature called Secret Conversation to some of its users, reports say.
The Secret Conversation feature needs to be manually activated for each chat, and unlike WhatsApp it does not work across platforms. Users need to tap on the username of the friend whom they want to have a secret conversation with, and activate the secret conversation feature to enable the feature.
Users can also set a timer to make the message disappear and for this there is a timer icon next to the Secret Conversation option.
Another important thing is that Secret Conversations can be seen on that device. So if the user uses multiple smartphones or tablets and such, they’ll only see that conversation on one device.
It was in July, Facebook first announced that they were bringing encryption to Messenger app. The new feature will help “support conversations about sensitive topics,” they said.
“We’ve heard from you that there are times when you want additional safeguards-perhaps when discussing private information like an illness or a health issue with trusted friends and family, or sending financial information to an accountant. To enable you to do this we are starting to test the ability to create one-to-one secret conversations in Messenger that will be end-to-end encrypted and which can only be read on one device of the person you’re communicating with,” The Facebook news room announcement read.
The Secret Conversation feature will use the Signal Protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems for encryption, which is also the same one being used for WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption.