The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is out with a new campaign that presses tech companies to move faster to protect user data through end-to-end encryption, and stronger defaults and privacy settings. Here are the details.
EFF wants more encryption and privacy settings
Here’s the EFF on the reasoning behind the “Encrypt It Already” campaign:
“End-to-end encryption protects the privacy of your data, puts control over how the data gets used into your hands, and is the best way we have to ensure private conversations remain private. Not enough companies use it as broadly as they should.”
On the campaign’s website, the EFF calls out Meta, Apple, Google, Bluesky, Telegram, and Ring, urging them to add or expand end-to-end encryption across their multiple products, make privacy-protective settings the default, deliver on prior encryption commitments, and give users more control over how their data is accessed and used.
In Apple’s case, the EFF is calling on the company to:
- Deliver on their promise of interoperable end-to-end encryption of RCS.
- Offer an AI permissions per app option to block AI access to secure chat platforms.
The latter echoes a recent warning from Signal President Meredith Whittaker, who said that AI agents pose security and privacy risks if allowed to access otherwise secure messaging apps directly.
As for the EFF’s first request, it may be granted sooner rather than later. Just a few weeks ago, iOS 26.3 beta 2 introduced new carrier bundle settings tied to end-to-end encryption support for RCS messages in the Messages app.
Last March, following the GSM Association’s standardization of end-to-end encryption for RCS messages, both Apple and Google confirmed they would work to bring the feature to their messaging platforms.
And while there was little movement in the months that followed, Apple’s recent beta changes suggest that the official launch might not be that far off.
To learn more about EFF’s “Encrypt It Already” campaign, follow this link.
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