Facebook began encrypting audio and video chats conducted through its Messenger texting service on Friday, giving users more privacy.
The move comes as the privacy of data on smartphones becomes a more contentious issue.
Since 2016, Messenger users have had the option of encrypting text chats.
Since then, the number of audio or video calls made on Messenger has increased to over 150 million each day, prompting Facebook to introduce the ability to scramble conversations from one end to the other to prevent snooping.
Messenger Director of Product Management, Ruth Kricheli said in a blog post “The content of your messages and calls in an end-to-end encrypted conversation is protected from the moment it leaves your device to the moment it reaches the receiver’s device,”
“This means that nobody else, including Facebook, can see or listen to what’s sent or said.”
End-to-end encryption is already commonly utilised by apps like WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, and is quickly becoming the industry standard.
Kricheli said “People expect their messaging apps to be secure and private,”
Facebook has revealed that it is experimenting with encrypting group chats and calls on Messenger, as well as direct messages on its image-focused Instagram social network.