Skype finally getting end-to-end encryption
Since its inception, Skype has been notable for its secretive, proprietary algorithm. It's also long had a complicated relationship with encryption: encryption is used by the Skype protocol, but the service has never been clear exactly how that encryption was implemented or exactly which privacy and security features it offers.
That changes today in a big way. The newest Skype preview now supports the Signal protocol: the end-to-end encrypted protocol already used by WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Allo, and, of course, Signal. Skype Private Conversations will support text, audio calls, and file transfers, with end-to-end encryption that Microsoft, Signal, and, it's believed, law enforcement agencies cannot eavesdrop on.
Presently, Private Conversations are only available in the Insider builds of Skype.
Also at The Register, The Verge, and Wired.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @01:20AM
You need a front end that is more userfriendly than [Skype | iMessage], which tries to use [Signal | Telegram | Wire], but transparently drops back to [Skype | iMessage] when it has to.
You will never get most people to switch based on what they see as tin-foil-hattery, especially if it makes things more difficult to use.
You could get them to switch to an easier to use, more capable program, that just happens to have user-friendly encryption built in.