Today, Microsoft has confirmed that ‘end-to-end encryption’ on Skype is coming soon. The company has started testing end-to-end encryption for audio calls, text messaging and image, audio and video file transmission.
This experimental feature “Private Conversations” will be available to anyone using beta Skype Insider build on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.
For adding this feature, Microsoft has collaborated with Signal. So, Skype will use industry standard Signal Protocol from Open Whisper Systems for end-to-end encryption. After the rollout of this feature, Skype encryption will be fully secure with the secure communication channel and encrypted messages on the server. Those encrypted messages can only be read by people involved in the communication.
During the testing, users who are using Skype Insiders will only be able to start private conversations with other Skype Insiders using the latest preview version. This feature will also be limited to one-to-one conversations.
To start a private conversation, you need to tap on + icon and select “New Private Conversation”. The select the contact to start a Private Conversation.
Microsoft didn’t confirm any timeline for the final rollout of this feature to all Skype users. I also assume that the final roll out will take some time.
After adding end-to-end encryption, Microsoft is joining Facebook and Apple who already added end-to-end encryption to Messenger, WhatsApp and iMessage.
