Facebook Messenger is Testing a “Secret Conversation” Feature

In addition to letting you send money to your friends, Facebook is testing a “secret conversation” feature in its Messenger app, according to a Facebook blog post shared on Friday.

Secret conversations are end-to-end encrypted, meaning that they can only be read on two devices: the sender’s and the recipient’s. They can also “self-destruct” in a certain time frame. The current version of secret conversation has more limited functions than typical Facebook chats, like not being able to support .GIFs or videos.

The new feature is currently only being tested by a few select users, but Facebook hopes to make it more widely available this summer.

According to The New York Times, almost half of cell phone users have the Facebook messenger app installed. Facebook is hoping that encryption will attract more users internationally, competing against other messaging services like WeChat, Kakao Talk and Line.

No word on whether the messages sent through secret conversations will be safe from screenshots, though.

 
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