The feature of adding OpenPGP public keys to profiles is launched by Facebook to prevent your notification emails from prying eyes of hackers.
Facebook has added a new feature for the convenience of its users. Reportedly, this new feature will allow users to add an encryption key to their accounts for securing their email notifications.
It was deemed important by Facebook because notification emails especially those from the company usually contain the message’s content. Through encryption these email messages would convert into gibberish for hackers and sophisticated third parties. This feature is called OpenPGP public keys and the feature was launched on Monday.
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PGP or Pretty Good Privacy is an open standard that is being used widely for encrypting emails. Every user has ownership of a public and a private key, which are similar to something that gets generated from password platforms like LastPass or iPassword.
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[must url=”https://www.hackread.com/facebook-security-check-account-hackers/”]New Security Checkup Tested by Facebook for Optimal Security of your Account[/must]
If you give anyone your public key then you will be able to receive messages from them but to view those messages you will use your private key.
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This isn’t a very fool-proof tool though because if anyone finds out your private key lets suppose by through phishing attack or someone gains access to your computer then your emails will be exposed to them.
However, this standard gets more enhanced visibility and could go farther from there with Facebook’s new feature that allows users to add a PGP key to their profile pages. In near future it will be possible to make strong security a priority for greater number of users on the Internet.
This move also ensures user satisfaction regarding information sharing on a social network, which otherwise has a spotty reputation in this matter.
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