Learn to use Facebook Messenger’s new encryption option for group chats and calls

Facebook Messenger extends end-to-end encryption to group chats and calls! Now, all group chats, voice and video calls will be protected by end-to-end (E2E) encryption, except for personal chats. This means that only those involved in the chat can see the chat content, further enhancing your privacy and security and preventing third parties (including Facebook) from snooping into your information.

From 2016, Facebook Messenger has used E2E encryption to protect chats between two people. But unlike WhatsApp or Signal, Facebook Messenger does not enable this protocol by default. If you want to protect your data, you will need to activate it manually.

How to activate E2E encryption for Facebook Messenger group chat?

This feature is being launched gradually and will arrive on your phone in the next few weeks if you haven't enabled it.

But it is important to note that this update only allows you to enable E2E encryption when creating a new group chat. If you want to protect groups you have joined, you must first delete them and then recreate them.

Although this is a bit troublesome, it is worth it to protect the privacy of you, your friends and family. To activate E2E encryption, click the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select to create a new group . Finally, just like creating an E2E encrypted personal chat, click the lock slider that appears in the upper right corner of the screen.

[Related: Why You Should Switch to Encrypted Message Apps Like Signal]

You will notice that when you click the slider, the contact list displayed on the screen changes – this is because the platform filters out those users who have not yet enabled this feature, which is a requirement for E2E encryption. Continue to create your group chat by selecting the participants you want to include, name the group and clicking Create .

Will Facebook Messenger set E2E encryption as the default option in the future?

While anything can happen, we don't have much hope for it. In the same blog post, Facebook also announced that it is testing E2E encryption on Instagram (Instagram started merging with Facebook Messenger in August 2020). There, E2E encryption will also be optional.

The company stated via email that when it comes to encryption, there are “many technical barriers to consider”. "We will be calm and composed to make sure we do the best and provide the best experience," a spokesperson said.

If you are one of the users who are lucky enough to be able to test this new feature, when you start a new chat, you will see a notification inviting you to activate E2E encryption. This seems to suggest that if and when the protocol is available on Instagram, it will also only be used for new conversations, just like on Facebook Messenger.

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