Mark Zuckerberg warns against taking screenshot of your Facebook Messenger chats

Changes to messenger service follow promises to increase user security and privacy

Mark Zuckerberg has issued a reminder – and an apparent warning – to users of Facebook Messenger who screenshot their chats.

The Facebook founder and CEO of parent company Meta said in a post on Friday that an update to Messenger would notify users if an image of their chat has been captured by another person.

“New update for end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats so you get a notification if someone screenshots a disappearing message,” Mr Zuckerberg wrote along with a screenshot of a conversation with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

“We’re also adding GIFs, stickers, and reactions to encrypted chats too,” he added.

The announcement follows an update to the widely used Facebook Messenger platform that allows people to set their messages to disappear.

The feature has so far been rolled out in the United States and is expected to be introduced for Facebook users in Europe in the coming weeks, according to USA Today.

Rival messaging platforms already offer options for user messages to disappear, as well as notifications when a conversation has been screen-shot.

That includes Snapchat, while messaging apps such as WhatsApp include end-to-end encryption – another new recent introduction to Facebook.

Reports suggested the move by Facebook was in response to concerns around security, and a wider controversy around online safety and rights to free speech.

“When are you guys adding the dislike button? We need answers...”, wrote one Facebook user in response to Mr Zuckerberg’s post.

“Maybe it can figure out how to feed the hungry or better, heal all the mental illness caused by these platforms, or maybe house the homeless,” an apparent sceptic added of the update to Facebook messenger. “Can it do any of these?”

The updates will also apply to Instagram, which is owned by Meta.