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Published on 2025-01-10
Google continues to advance its goal of introducing the MLS end-to-end encryption specification in its Messages app, with a flag identified in its internal code that enables this specification for one-on-one chat conversations.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a system that prevents third parties from accessing conversations that users have in messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, or Telegram. However, it is a layer of protection that hampers interoperability between these messaging applications.
In order to improve encryption functionality between apps, the tech giant announced in 2023 that it would adopt the RFC 9420 Message Layer Security (MLS) specification from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in its Messages app.
Specifically, this MLS specification is a message-layer security technology that, while ensuring E2EE, also allows practical interoperability between platforms that adopt it.
This standard appeared in the internal code of Google Messages in July of last year and now Google has begun testing its use in one-on-one chats, as observed by Android Authority.
According to the mentioned source, MLS encryption was enabled within one-on-one conversations through the latest beta version of Google Messages v20250106, where a new flag – still experimental features – was detected to manage that protocol.
In this regard, the MLS protocol appears in the internal code lines with the codename "Zinnia" and, when the corresponding flag is activated, encryption is enabled, showing as "value=1".
Similarly, if it is deactivated, the encryption protocol displays as "value=0", indicating that the app is using the default encryption for RCS, as explained by Android Authority.
With all this, so far, the MLS encryption flag has not been activated for group conversations and, therefore, it is a feature that remains in internal testing before it can be tried by users.
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