Facebook Boosts Email Notifications By Adding OpenPGP Key To User's Profile; New Feature Can Only Be Managed Via Desktop For Now!

Facebook, in its latest attempt to boost its security and privacy credentials, is now giving users the option to enable encryption for email alerts.

In order to enable encrypted email notifications, Facebook users can list their OpenPGP on the profile starting Monday, June 1.

The popular social network can now send its users a super-secret notification that even the National Security Agency cannot read.

This implies the next time a Facebook user gets an email notification from Facebook for a new password reset, tag, or even friend request , the message will be encrypted, PCWorld noted.

That being said, Facebook is not helping its users generate their own key. However, those users who have one can add it to their profile by clicking on "About" and then "Contact and Basic Info" on their profile.

Those Facebook users who do not see it now, can check back over the next few days as this new feature is rolling out over time. Moreover, it only works on desktop browsers but Facebook says a way to allow users to manage their keys on mobile as well is in the making.

In a public post, the social network giant noted that the feature is still "experimental" and users will be able to send end-to-end encrypted notifications email from the Facebook profile to email accounts as soon as the feature is activated.

In case a Facebook user enable encrypted messages without adding an OpenPGP key, Facebook will encrypt the message using its own key, Venture Beat noted.

"To enhance the privacy of this email content, today we are gradually rolling out an experimental new feature that enables people to add OpenPGP public keys to their profile; these keys can be used to 'end-to-end' encrypt notification emails sent from Facebook to your preferred email accounts," Facebook noted. "People may also choose to share OpenPGP keys from their profile, with or without enabling encrypted notifications."

Facebook has been determined to provide enhanced security and privacy credentials to its users and this is its latest attempt. Facebook began encrypting all of its web traffic back in 2013, thus making it harder for racketeers and spies to monitor communications, and in 2014 it added support for anonymity tool Tor.

But that's not all; Facebook-acquired WhatsApp incorporated an encryption system from Open Whisper Systems into the Android version of its app last year.