Facebook confirms major controversial change WILL come to Messenger by the end of the year despite concerns
FACEBOOK owner Meta has reaffirmed that its controversial encryption plan for Messenger will go ahead by the end of the year.
End-to-end encryption is designed to make it impossible for anyone to access or intercept your private messages.
But MPs and campaigners against the move fear it could make the app a safe haven for paedophiles and terrorists.
Messenger users can already switch on end-to-end encryption if they wish but it's not on by default.
"Starting today, millions more people’s chats on Messenger will be upgraded to stronger encryption standards as part of our ongoing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) testing," Messenger product manager Timothy Buck said.
"We remain on track to launch default E2EE for one-to-one friends and family chats on Messenger by the end of the year."
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Instagram's direct messaging feature is expected to follow suit.
Meta's other app, WhatsApp, is already end-to-end encrypted automatically.
How to turn on end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger
If you wish to have end-to-end encrypted conversations on Messenger you'll need to use the Secret Conversation tool.
Open the Messenger app and tap the name of the person you wish to talk to.
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Then tap their name at the top of your screen.
Look for Go to secret conversation.
A popup will say that the chat is end-to-end encrypted.
"Messages and calls are secured with end-to-end encryption." it reads.
Any messages sent here will be end-to-end encrypted.
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