Google Fi Phone Service Receives End-To-End Encryption

The search engine company Google has donated end-to-end encryption to its wireless service Fi. By default, phone calls are not always encrypted. The feature will be rolled out in the next few weeks and is only available to Android users.

Must be Google Fi customers

Google announced this in a blog entry. With the encryption, the provider does not have the option of recording phone calls. The security feature has been implemented in the phone app available on Android devices. The function is only activated if both call partners are customers of the Fi service offered in the USA.

So far, Google has not given any details on how encryption works. The feature should be able to be used for both WLAN and Voice-over-LTE calls. It is also unclear whether the encrypted phone calls will be billed as voice calls or based on the volume of data transferred.

Only On Android

End-to-end encryption can only be used on Android devices. Since iPhone users rely on the phone app provided by Apple, Google cannot integrate its technology here.

It would be possible, however, for Google to work with other manufacturers and mobile phone providers in the future and publish a uniform standard. However, it could be years before end-to-end encryption is used in mobile networks in this country. Until then, users who attach great importance to privacy will have to fall back on encrypted Voice-over-IP services such as SIP, Skype, and WhatsApp.