How Do You Know if Messengeris Really Private

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Chances are that if you lot apply Facebook today (and those chances are high considering Facebook simply passed over 2.six billion monthly agile users), y'all have heard all the hype well-nigh the Facebook Messenger App and concerns over Facebook Messenger privacy.

To commencement off the whole fiasco in 2014, users were forced to download the separate Facebook Messenger App if they wanted to use messaging through the Facebook app itself for mobile. This started causing Facebook users to be leary.

Why? Because the Facebook Messenger app asked for access to a lot more permissions than the average app and, let'due south be honest, the permissions are a petty frightening when you commencement looking into them (more on that below).

Then, in early 2018, the Facebook-Cambridge Analytical data scandal happened which exposed the fact that millions of Facebook users' personal information was being harvested without their consent by Cambridge Analytica. This led to the #DeleteFacebook motility which trended on Twitter.

Needless to say, Facebook users have been worried well-nigh their privacy for a long time now, and for good reason.

If you have questions about Facebook Messenger when it comes to your privacy, then you're in the right place.

Nosotros have answers. Utilise the guide below to jump around as you need:

• Are Letters On Messenger Private?
• Is Facebook Messenger Secure?
• Can Anybody Encounter Your Messages On Messenger?
• How Do I Commencement Secret Conversations On Messenger?
• Facebook and Facebook Messenger App Permissions
• Why Does Facebook Need These Permissions?
• Is Facebook the Only App With These "Invasive" Permissions?
• Should Y'all Be Worried About Your Privacy With the Facebook Messenger App Or Non?
• What Are Proficient Alternatives to Facebook Messenger?

Are Messages On Messenger Private?

NO. Unless you are using Hole-and-corner Conversations (explained below), your messages on Facebook Messenger are not private.

Messages that are sent through the Facebook Messenger app are NOT terminate-to-stop encrypted. This ways that any message you send on Messenger could be seen or intercepted in manifestly text.

If you truly care about your privacy, you lot would never utilize a messaging app that is non end-to-end encrypted by default such as Facebook Messenger.

What does finish-to-finish encryption mean? Glad you asked! In super simple terms, if you transport a message from your telephone that says "Hi Mark" and the bulletin is encrypted, it gets sent as a bunch of jumbled letters and numbers before it reaches Mark'southward phone.

This means that if your "Hello Marker" message was intercepted by anyone, it would look something like this: TUVm6HIrSJjhNU9x8gIaWJF4KtK3I5TYaSDdaxcDlrI=

That way, nobody (including hackers) would be able to know what the message is saying.

However, since the Facebook Messenger app does non encrypt your messages by default, all of your pictures and letters you send can be seen by Facebook.

In fact, Facebook confirmed it uses engineering science to spy on your Facebook messages and pictures. Even though these messages aren't always seen by an actual person, that'due south still a very shady business concern determination and the exact opposite of "privacy."

Sounds pretty scary, doesn't it? Nonetheless millions of users continue to use Facebook Messenger on a daily basis.

Is Facebook Messenger Secure?

NO. Facebook Messenger is simply "secure" if you are using their Secret Conversations feature.

In 2016, Facebook announced a new feature offering encrypted, surreptitious, cocky-destructing Messenger chats called Secret Conversations.

Even though Secret Conversations take been a feature that Facebook Messenger has offered since 2016, many users today don't even know the characteristic exists.

In March of 2019, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, posted a note on Facebook called "A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking" in which he outlines the visitor's visions to work towards building a privacy-focused messaging and social networking platform through Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp (all platforms owned past Facebook).

In the commodity, Mark Zuckerberg writes, "I believe the time to come of communication volition increasingly shift to individual, encrypted services where people can be confident what they say to each other stays secure and their messages and content won't stick effectually forever."

This would include end-to-terminate encryption on all Facebook-owned messaging services. It should be noted that WhatsApp already has end-to-end encryption built into the app by default (proficient news!).

All of that beingness said, Facebook's messaging platforms aren't even close to beingness fully encrypted and they have said that encrypting Messenger will take years.

Tin can Anybody Encounter Your Messages On Messenger?

Technically, Yep. Since your letters are non end-to-end encrypted, that means that Facebook, law enforcement, hackers, over-reaching governments, or anyone who knew what they were doing could potentially read your messages.

Now, this doesn't mean that your friends or family members would exist able to read your messages. They would only be able to read them if they had your username and password and were signed into your account.

However, your Facebook Messenger letters are stored on Facebook'south servers word for give-and-take. So, if Facebook really wanted to, they could view all your messages or, in some cases, would have to hand your messages over to law enforcement or the regime.

If Facebook'due south servers or your own Facebook account was e'er hacked, your messages and pictures you've sent could potentially all be retrieved every bit well.

How Practise I Start Hole-and-corner Conversations On Messenger?

If you desire to utilize Hush-hush Conversations on Facebook Messenger (which offering end-to-end encryption), yous have to first enable Clandestine Conversations on your account.

Follow the steps below to enable Hugger-mugger Conversations on Facebook Messenger for both Android and iOS:

1. Open Facebook Messenger
2. Tap on your Profile Picture in the upper-left
3. Scroll down and tap on Undercover Conversations
4. Make sure the Underground Conversations toggle is turned ON

In one case Hush-hush Conversations are enabled, then you can go and actually apply them.

Follow the steps below to offset a Secret Chat on Facebook Messenger for Android:

1. Open Facebook Messenger
2. Tap on the Pencil icon in the upper-right
3. Make sure the Padlock toggle is turned ON
4. Choose the person you desire to outset a Secret Chat with

Follow the steps below to start a Underground Conversation on Facebook Messenger for iOS:

1. Open Facebook Messenger
2. Tap on the Pencil icon in the upper-correct
3. Tap on Hush-hush in the upper-right
4. Choose the person you want to start a Secret Conversation with

For more than information, see the Facebook Cloak-and-dagger Conversations assist article.

Read: Password Security – Why Secure Passwords Need Length Over Complexity

Facebook and Facebook Messenger App Permissions

As far equally Facebook and Facebook Messenger App permissions go, at that place has been a lot of speculation ever since 2014 when users were forced to download the separate Facebook Messenger app in club to use messaging on mobile.

Facebook users accept been concerned about how Facebook is using these permissions to their advantage to send personalized advertisements and make coin off of them.

Well, we went and started looking into the Facebook and Facebook Messenger permissions and have presented our findings below.

First of all:

If yous take the regular Facebook App downloaded, y'all already have agreed to nearly all the permissions that the Facebook Messenger App requests!

Yes, you lot heard that correctly. The regular Facebook app (not the Messenger app) uses nearly still permissions as the Messenger app does.

Don't believe us? Here'due south an list of the Facebook and Facebook Messenger permissions side-by-side:

Every bit of Facebook version 265.0.0.61.103 and Facebook Messenger version 259.0.0.18.120

In the in a higher place pictures, you'll see screenshots of the Facebook app and the Messenger app'southward permissions. After reading through them, some of them stand up out as beingness pretty scary if you lot've never looked into these before (some are listed below).

Facebook Messenger App Permissions Examples:

• directly call telephone numbers
• receive and read your text messages (SMS or MMS)
• take pictures and videos
• record audio
• change network connectivity
• download files without notification
• read the contents of your shared storage

Facebook App Permissions Examples:

• read your text letters (SMS or MMS)
• take pictures and videos
• record audio
• change network connectivity
• download files without notification
• admission location in the groundwork

Notice that many of the permissions are the aforementioned, and the two apps asking nearly identical permissions (with a few differences). Afterward all, y'all are able to call people direct using the Facebook Messenger app which explains why it has a few differences from the regular Facebook app such as permission to directly call phone numbers.

Why Does Facebook Need These Permissions?

Well, Facebook has some pages in their Help Eye to explain to users what the permissions are used for. The pages have an explanation for both the regular Facebook App and the Facebook Messenger App.

Run across these links:

• Messenger App Assistance Page – Why is the Messenger app requesting permission to access features on my Android telephone or tablet?
• Facebook App Help Page – Why is the Facebook app requesting permission to admission features on my Android?

Some examples Facebook provides every bit to why they need those permissions (can as well be constitute in the links above):

• Read your text messages (SMS or MMS) – If yous add together a telephone number to your account, this allows us to confirm your phone number automatically past finding the confirmation lawmaking that nosotros ship via text message.
• Take pictures and video – This permission allows you lot to take photos and videos within the Messenger app to hands ship to your friends and other contacts.
• Record audio – This permission allows you to send voice messages, make free phonation calls, and transport videos within Messenger.
• Directly phone call phone numbers – This permission allows you to call a Messenger contact by tapping on the person'south telephone number, found in a bill of fare inside your message thread with the person.
• Read calendar events plus confidential data – This allows the app to show your calendar availability (based on your telephone'southward calendar) when you're viewing an result on Facebook.

Another matter that is important to notation — An application needs permissions in lodge to get its features to work. I have even adult some basic Android apps in the past for fun that required some of these permissions.

For instance, if there is a button inside your application that allows the user to take a flick or video, the developer needs to require permission to take pictures and videos along with the permission to record sound . Otherwise, that push is useless because information technology won't do anything. Simple equally that.

Is Facebook the Only App With These "Invasive" Permissions?

Absolutely not. This is something that you would recollect is common sense, just apparently it'due south non. There are plenty of other apps out there that use many of these same permissions.

Here is a list of nearly of the "invasive" permissions listed above that the Facebook and Messenger App use forth with other pop apps that use those same permissions:

• directly call phone numbers
  • As well used by:
    • AVG AntiVirus Security – 100,000,000+ downloads
    • Skype – 500,000,000+ downloads
• receive, read, and edit your text messages (SMS or MMS)
  • Also used past:
    • AVG AntiVirus Security (all of them) – 100,000,000+ downloads
    • WhatsApp Messenger (only receive and send SMS messages) – 1 billion+ downloads
    • Skype (only receive SMS and read SMS/MMS) – 500,000,000+ downloads
    • Snapchat (only receive SMS) – 500,000,000+ downloads
• take pictures and videos
  • Also used by:
    • AVG AntiVirus Security – 100,000,000+ downloads
    • WhatsApp Messenger – i billion+ downloads
    • Skype – 500,000,000+ downloads
    • Instagram – 1 billion+ downloads
    • Snapchat – 500,000,000+ downloads
• record audio
  • As well used past:
    • WhatsApp Messenger – 1 billion+ downloads
    • Skype – 500,000,000+ downloads
    • Instagram – 1 billion+ downloads
    • Snapchat – 500,000,000+ downloads

With all of that new information, it'southward notwithstanding a thing of how the visitor decides to use those permissions.

For example, if a company such equally Facebook has as much data as they do, there are a lot of bad things they could practise with that information.

Data is precious. Companies will pay absurd amounts of money for Facebook to sell it to them so that they can advertise to you. Plus, knowing Facebook's extremely shady past, can y'all trust Facebook? We don't.

Should You Exist Worried About Your Privacy With the Facebook Messenger App Or Not?

The reply is Absolutely Yep you should be worried!

Facebook is not even close to having end-to-finish encryption by default on all of the apps they own (Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp). The simply Facebook-owned app that has end-to-end encryption by default correct now is WhatsApp, and then if you lot Take to use i, we would highly suggest using WhatsApp.

Between the Facebook-Cambridge Analytical data scandal, Facebook albeit that they use engineering to spy on your messages and pictures, Facebook blatantly suppressing certain topics on their platforms, and so much more than, it'southward no wonder that no one trusts Facebook.

Facebook is using the data they gather about each individual user then that they tin can sell that information to third-party companies. This is how Facebook monetizes the information they receive. Without it, they wouldn't exist in business.

Not sure how your data is used? You tin poke through the various categories on the Facebook Data Use Policy page.

The office we should be even more worried virtually is the fact that, regardless of whatever permission that any app could e'er ask united states of america, much of online Internet data (whether that be Facebook chats, websites visited, pictures sent, etc.) goes straight to the NSA because patently nosotros all need to exist tracked. Merely that'south a whole other conversation…

What Are Good Alternatives to Facebook Messenger?

Use Signal.

Happy messaging!

Jake is the founder of Crambler. He is a fully-remote software engineer by solar day and a guitar-wielding musician by dark with a burning passion for technology, entrepreneurship, and music.

cunninghamthatche1954.blogspot.com

Source: https://crambler.com/truth-about-facebook-messenger-app-privacy/

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