![Messenger is Facebook’s messaging service [File]](https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/f1w19t/article67126330.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/Facebook_Settlement_Deadline_22316.jpg "Messenger is Facebook’s messaging service [File]")
Facebook parent Meta said on Tuesday it was expanding testing for end-to-end encryption for its Messenger messaging service and adding millions of people’s chats to an upgraded security standard.
Messenger is Facebook’s messaging service, which can be used across devices independently of Facebook.
In a company blog post, Messenger Product Manager, Timothy Buck, said that the company was on track to “launch default E2EE for one-to-one friends and family chats on Messenger by the end of the year.”
The Meta-owned messaging service WhatsApp already has end-to-end encryption, so the slow rollout of the same feature for Messenger chats has surprised many users.
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Meta’s blog post explained this was because Messenger chats went through the Meta servers, meaning content was seen by a third party. According to the blog post, substantial amounts of code have to be rewritten in order to achieve end-to-end encryption for both Messenger messages and Instagram direct messages (DMs).
However, Meta said it had taken inspiration from WhatsApp in order to bring encrypted messages to Messenger even as it reworked more than 100 features and tried to keep the messaging service as “simple and lightweight” as it could.
“As we continue to increase the scale of our tests, and prepare to roll out the upgraded service, people will need to update their app to a recent build to access default E2EE,” stated the company blog post, adding this was the reason for the delay.
