Mark Zuckerberg has sent out a reminder, and perhaps a cautionary message, to users of Facebook Messenger about screenshotting their online conversations.
The CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced in a post an update to Messenger that would alert users if someone captures an image of their disappearing messages.
“New update for end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats so you get a notification if someone screenshots a disappearing message,” Zuckerberg wrote, accompanying his message with a screenshot of a conversation with his wife, Priscilla Chan.
This announcement comes on the heels of an update to Facebook Messenger that allows users to set messages to vanish after a certain period. Initially rolled out in the United States, this feature is slated to arrive for European Facebook users in the upcoming weeks, as reported by USA Today.
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Other social media platforms, such as Snapchat, already offer similar disappearing message options, along with notifications for when a conversation is screenshotted. Meanwhile, encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp have integrated end-to-end encryption, a recent addition to Facebook’s services.
The move by Facebook is believed to address concerns regarding security and broader controversies surrounding online safety and freedom of expression.
In response to Zuckerberg’s post, some users wrote that they thought he should be focusing other things. One user asked when Facebook would be rolling out a dislike button, while another skeptic questioned the platform’s ability to address significant societal issues like hunger, mental health, or homelessness.
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