Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
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Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#2Last I heard, didn't their messenger app pull a ton of not required permissions on Android?
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#3From what is written, I understand this to mean that users can select this feature for specific conversations. That not all messages are subject to this encryption.
I am not usually one for paranoia, but is anyone else becoming more suspicious about Facebooks motivations and involvement with gov? This feature is a massive boost for intelligence services dealing with unsophisticated actors. This reduces the haystack significantly, by users self flagging messages that may be incriminating. Multi-millions of FB messages must be sent every day, brute-forcing encryption on all of these is probably not possible. A small % marked as 'secret conversation'? Much easier.
Why doesn't FB just apply encryption on all messages? Surely they have the resources avail. Is it because this feature makes somebody else's job a lot easier? If my suspicions are correct, what sort of threats would this pick up. Are serious threats likely to use FB messages with 'secret conversation' flagged to co-ordinate actions?
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#4From what is written, I understand this to mean that users can select this feature for specific conversations. That not all messages are subject to this encryption. I am not usually one for paranoia, but is anyone else becoming more suspicious about Facebooks motivations and involvement with gov? This feature is a massive boost for intelligence services dealing with unsophisticated actors. This reduces the haystack s…
They have taken exactly the same approach as Google with the Allo service. This is most probably done because people want to use Chat Bots and services and these do not work with E2E encryption. Well they could work but it would be dishonest branding as the messages would leak.
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#5From what is written, I understand this to mean that users can select this feature for specific conversations. That not all messages are subject to this encryption. I am not usually one for paranoia, but is anyone else becoming more suspicious about Facebooks motivations and involvement with gov? This feature is a massive boost for intelligence services dealing with unsophisticated actors. This reduces the haystack s…
I think the more likely scenario is they know the value of the conversations they datamine, but don't want to lose customers to these other message apps that tout their encryption. So they do the bare minimum to support encryption while still having access to most data.
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#6"End-To-End Encrypted ‘Secret Conversations’" in software that is ordinarily used to harvest electronic phone books and rummage through user photos, from a company that made its whole fortune trying to obliterate privacy as a part of human culture?
It's going to be pretty high standards of proof to give this anything that resembles credibility.
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#7I'm still sticking with the website version, thanks
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.o...
Messenger, Facebook
This app has access to:
Identity
find accounts on the device
read your own contact card
add or remove accounts
find accounts on the device
read your contacts
modify your contacts
precise location (GPS and network-based)
approximate location (network-based)
edit your text messages (SMS or MMS)
receive text messages (SMS)
send SMS messages
read your text messages (SMS or MMS)
receive text messages (MMS)
read phone status and identity
read call log
directly call phone numbers
reroute outgoing calls
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
read the contents of your USB storage
take pictures and videos
record audio
view Wi-Fi connections
read phone status and identity
receive data from Internet
download files without notification
control vibration
run at startup
draw over other apps
pair with Bluetooth devices
send sticky broadcast
create accounts and set passwords
change network connectivity
prevent device from sleeping
install shortcuts
read battery statistics
read sync settings
toggle sync on and off
read Google service configuration
view network connections
change your audio settings
full network accessRe: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#8From what is written, I understand this to mean that users can select this feature for specific conversations. That not all messages are subject to this encryption. I am not usually one for paranoia, but is anyone else becoming more suspicious about Facebooks motivations and involvement with gov? This feature is a massive boost for intelligence services dealing with unsophisticated actors. This reduces the haystack s…
I think the more likely scenario is they know the value of the conversations they datamine, but don't want to lose customers to these other message apps that tout their encryption. So they do the bare minimum to support encryption while still having access to most data.
This does seem a likely scenario. Unfortunately all the stories of over the last few years have severely eroded the benefit of doubt that I give these companies, which is a great shame. I imagine others due to this, approach similar moves with great suspicious.
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#9From what is written, I understand this to mean that users can select this feature for specific conversations. That not all messages are subject to this encryption. I am not usually one for paranoia, but is anyone else becoming more suspicious about Facebooks motivations and involvement with gov? This feature is a massive boost for intelligence services dealing with unsophisticated actors. This reduces the haystack s…
> Why doesn't FB just apply encryption on all messages?
The same reason Gmail can't work with end-to-end encryption--they want to advertise at you based on message content.
I highly doubt there is any government intervention in FB's business strategy, but there seems to be plenty of cooperation after the business decisions are made. (The same is largely true with Microsoft, Google, and yes, even Apple.) It's not really a conspiracy, or a matter of paranoia--it's been very widely reported for a while now, and people just generally don't seem to give a shit (myself increasingly included).
EDIT: I do care. But I think (a) people need to take privacy into their own hands, since companies will never be incentivized to do it and (b) we've entered a new cultural era, where the levels of privacy enjoyed in the past are no longer socially normal.
Re: Facebook Messenger begins testing end-to-end encryption using Signal Protocol
#10So what. It's metadata that counts.