When it comes to keeping our texts, chats, and other digital messages safe from prying eyes, we have a powerful tool: end-to-end encryption. Used correctly, end-to-end encryption turns our conversations online into secret messages that can only be decoded by their intended recipients. This month marks an important step forward for encrypted messaging—as well as a notable disappointment.
When it comes to keeping our texts, chats, and other digital messages safe from prying eyes, we have a powerful tool: end-to-end encryption. Used correctly, end-to-end encryption turns our conversations online into secret messages that can only be decoded by their intended recipients. For years, we've been urging tech companies to bring this privacy-protecting tool to more of the apps and platforms we use every day. This month marks an important step forward for encrypted messaging—as well as a notable disappointment.
This week, Apple released iOS 26.5, an update that supports end-to-end encryption for Rich Communication Services (RCS), meaning conversations between Android and iPhone will soon be encrypted in the default chat apps.
Unfortunately, Instagram ended its opt-in, and therefore rarely used, end-to-end encryption feature. Years after publicly promising to provide the privacy protections of end-to-end encryption across its platforms by default, it instead gave up on that technical challenge. Now, we've all lost an option for safer conversations on one of the biggest social media platforms in the world.
EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan.
00:00 Intro
03:15 Interview with Thorin Klosowski
18:25 Post-Interview Discussion
21:32 Encryption Quiz
26:33 EFF Events and Opportunities