The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has introduced a new campaign called Encrypt It Already, focused on expanding the use of end-to-end encryption in consumer technology products and services.
The effort examines public security commitments and the current availability of encryption protections in widely used services. It maps where encryption features are planned, where they are available through user settings, and where additional protections are proposed.
EFF outlined three categories, each containing three demands.
Keep your promises covers features that companies have publicly stated they are working on and that remain unreleased. This includes end-to-end encryption for Facebook group messages, interoperable encrypted RCS messaging promised by Apple and Google, and end-to-end encryption for direct messages on Bluesky.
Defaults matter focuses on protections that already exist within a service or app and require user configuration. Examples include Telegram’s encrypted direct messages, WhatsApp backups, and encryption for Ring camera footage, all of which require users to change settings to receive protection.
Protect our data highlights new encryption features that companies should launch based on features already available in similar products. These include encrypted backups for Google Authenticator, encrypted Android backup data, and app level controls from Apple and Google that allow users to block AI systems from accessing secure chat applications.
Encrypt It Already calls on companies to complete announced encryption plans, enable protections by default, and extend encrypted storage to more categories of user data. Users are encouraged to activate available encryption features and to ask service providers about deployment timelines and coverage.
“End-to-end encryption protects what we say and what we store in a way that gives users, not companies or governments, control over data. These sorts of privacy-protective features should be the status quo across a range of products, from fitness wearables to notes apps, but instead it’s a rare feature limited to a small set of services, like messaging and (occasionally) file storage,” said Thorin Klosowski, Security and Privacy Activist at EFF.
