The Internet is getting more insecure from day-to-day. So there is a chance of hacker or Government agencies watching all your personal chats on Facebook, which you surely don’t like.
So, in order to avoid this, you should use secret conversation for your confidential more personal chats.

Secret conversation encrypts you messages using End to End Encryption method. So no one in middle can understand or read these messages even if your facebook account is Hacked or Compromised.

In this post you will learn how to chat secretly and securely using on Facebook messenger using Secret conversation, an End-to-End Encrypted chat and some of its safety features

Things to Note: Limitations and Compatibility

Before you proceed to learn more about secret chats, here are few things to note.

What do you need to Start a secret chat on Messenger

Secret conversation is only available on Messenger app for Android and iOS.
It is not available on Windows Phone, Messenger.com, Facebook.com, Facebook lite app or any other sites and apps which allow you to chat on facebook.

So, you need the Messenger app installed on your Android or iPhone.

What you Can & Cannot send and receive

You can send:

• Texts and Images
• Emojis and Stickers
• Location

You cannot:

• Send GIF’s and Videos
• Make Group chats
• Audio or Video call
• Payments

Its End to End Encryption, please note…

Now as we know that E2E encryption is what makes it Secret and secure, there is another thing to note about it.
As they are strictly readable only and sender and receiver’s device, you can only access those chats on that single device you have started it.

In simple words, if you started a Secret conversation on Phone A, you CANNOT see that chat in Phone B with same account, or Facebook.com or anywhere else other Phone A. So beware if you are changing devices.

Start a Secret Chat (End-to-End Encrypted) in Messenger

Unlike as in WhatsApp, as not All chats are End-to-End encrypted in messenger. So you have to start a new ‘Secret conversation’ with a person of your choice to make sure its E2E encrypted.

Secret Conversation on Android

1. Open Messenger app, Tap on ‘+’ sign and then on Write message.
2. Now turn on the toggle with Lock symbol, present on right side in the search bar.
   
3. Search and Select any friend from list to start a secret conversation

Secret Conversation on iOS (iPhone/iPad)

1. Open Messenger app on your iPhone or iPad and click on Home tab.
2. Tap on ‘New chat’ button (Pencil button in Top-right corner).
3. Now tap on Secret in Top-right and select a friend from the list.

Alternatively, for both Android and iPhone, you can also open an existing chat with a person > then Tap on contact name (for iOS) or ‘i’ button on top-right corner (for Android) and then Tap on Secret conversation, to start a secret chat with that person.

Self-Destruct or Auto delete Messages and Chats

The chats, even the secret ones stay on your device until you delete it manually. There is a chance that the person on other end storing them in form of Screenshots.

So we should make them Disappear or Delete on their own with Self-Destruct timer

1. Open the Secret conversation which you want to Self-destruct.
2. Tap on Clock icon present to the last in the message area and choose the time after which your messages should disappear (you can choose from 5 Secs to 1 Day).
   
3. This will Auto-delete the messages you sent. To Auto-delete whole chat, ask the person on the other end, to set the Self-Destruct timer in the same way as you did.

TIP: Verify if Chats are End-to-End Encrypted

1. Open a Secret Conversation with a person >  Tap on ‘i’ button on top-right corner (for Android) or contact name (for iOS)
2. Tap on Device Keys.
3. Do same on other person’s device, and Compare them both.

Privacy Tips & warnings

1. Secret Conversations appear on your phone just as Normal chats, so anyone who can access your phone can see them unless you manually Delete them (or) Enable Self-destruct Timer.
2. Both persons on chat should Enable Self-destruct timer from their sides, to Auto-delete the whole chat.

Final Words

Facebook’s secret conversation feature is going to very beneficial for most people who want to converse securely on the internet but don’t want to leave Facebook.

Hope this post helps you communicate safely on Facebook messenger. Please do share this post with your friends on Facebook and twitter.