Facebook Announces Plans to Pivot toward Privacy

Facebook Announces Plans to Pivot toward Privacy

“I believe the future of communication will increasingly shift to private, encrypted services where people can be confident what they say to each other stays secure and their messages and content won't stick around forever. This is the future I hope we will help bring about,” Zuckerberg wrote.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to shift the social media platform’s focus toward encryption and more short-term communication on its messaging apps.

“I believe the future of communication will increasingly shift to private, encrypted services where people can be confident what they say to each other stays secure and their messages and content won't stick around forever. This is the future I hope we will help bring about,” Zuckerberg wrote.

Zuckerberg indicated an interest in building a “simpler platform that’s focused on privacy first.” The new platform, he said, will be focused on several principles: private interactions, encryption, giving users the option to adjust the permanence of content and messages, safety, interoperability and secure data storage.

In his post, Zuckerberg said that many people use the Facebook Messenger app on Android to send and receive SMS text messages. Those texts can’t be encrypted because the SMS protocol isn’t encrypted. If Facebook integrates messaging services across its apps Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, users would be able to send encrypted messages more easily.

"I believe working towards implementing end-to-end encryption for all private communications is the right thing to do," Zuckerberg said. However, he acknowledged the difficult line to walk between encrypting data for privacy while not enabling “the privacy of people doing bad things.”

“We have a responsibility to work with law enforcement and to help prevent these wherever we can. We are working to improve our ability to identify and stop bad actors across our apps by detecting patterns of activity or through other means, even when we can't see the content of the messages, and we will continue to invest in this work,” Zuckerberg said. “But we face an inherent tradeoff because we will never find all of the potential harm we do today when our security systems can see the messages themselves.”

According to Zuckerberg, as part of Facebook’s privacy goals, it will not “store sensitive data in countries with weak records on human rights like privacy and freedom of expression in order to protect data from being improperly accessed. […] We do not believe storing people’s data in some countries is a secure enough foundation to build such important internet infrastructure on.”

Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook has struggled with privacy issues, including the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and a data breach that affected 50 million users.

"I understand that many people don't think Facebook can or would even want to build this kind of privacy-focused platform -- because frankly we don't currently have a strong reputation for building privacy protective services, and we've historically focused on tools for more open sharing," he wrote. "But we've repeatedly shown that we can evolve to build the services that people really want, including in private messaging and stories."

Zuckerberg did not offer a timeline on when Facebook would implement these changes, but indicated that “A lot of this work is in the early stages, and we are committed to consulting with experts, advocates, industry partners, and governments -- including law enforcement and regulators -- around the world to get these decisions right.”

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

  • Report: Cyber Attackers Continue to Turn to AI-Based Tools to Avoid Detection

    Comcast Business recently released its 2025 Cybersecurity Threat Report, a comprehensive analysis of 34.6 billion cybersecurity events detected between June 1,2024 and May 31, 2025. Now in its third year, the report offers business leaders a unique perspective into the evolving threat landscape and provides actionable insights to help organizations strengthen their defenses and align cybersecurity with business risk. Read Now

  • Axis Communications Creates AI-powered Video Surveillance Orchestra

    What if cameras could not only see the world, but interpret it—and respond like orchestra musicians reading sheet music: instantly, precisely, and in perfect harmony? That’s what global network technology leader Axis Communications set to find out. Read Now

  • Just as Expected

    GSX produced a wonderful tradeshow earlier this week. Monday was surprisingly strong in the morning, and the afternoon wasn’t bad at all. That’s Monday’s results and asking attendees to travel on Sunday. Just a quick hint, no one wants to give up their weekend to travel and set up an exhibit booth. I’m just saying. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • NOLA: The Crescent City

    Twenty years later we finds ourselves in New Orleans. Twenty years ago the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced exhibitors and attendees to look elsewhere for tradeshow floor space. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

New Products

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.