Facebook, Menlo Park based social networking giant in a blog post said that it has started testing end to end encryption on its messenger app. The messenger, Facebook’s messaging app currently has nearly 900 million users. This encryption is similar to end to end encryption provided by WhatsApp since April this year. The end to encryption of messenger will prohibit even Facebook from reading users conversation.
Facebook uses Signal Protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems for encryption. The encryption facility on the messenger is an opt-in facility. The encryption on WhatsApp is turned on by default. The encryption is currently not available for rich content like GIFs and videos, payments, group conversations, or other popular Messenger features.
[Also read: Twitter to launch stickers soon]
Facebook clarifies stance on censorship policies
A few days earlier Facebook involved itself in a controversy after it ‘accidentally’ deleted the video of a Falcon Heights lady who streamed the attack on her bleeding companion on Facebook Live. The video went viral only for the Facebook to take it down later. Facebook in a blog post claimed that the video was taken down due to a technical glitch. The video eventually surfaced back on Facebook. But this incited ire of Facebook users who termed Facebook community standards and censorship policies as brutal (Please have a look at community standards of Facebook).
Facebook said that it has 24/7 support team which responds to reports against live videos. A live video can be taken down anytime midway when a reviewer flags it in violation of Facebook community standards.
Yahoo has recently launched four new algorithmically-driven bots to Facebook Messenger. This helps users get news, stock market trends, weather forecasts. Yahoo Messenger bots can be found on Android and iOS by searching for @YahooFinance, @MonkeyPet, @YahooNews, and @YahooWeather. Bots on Facebook can currently reach anyone who is on the Messenger app. Bots offer personalised service depending on the company that launched the bot.
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