Discord on Tuesday unveiled an end-to-end encryption protocol called DAVE for audio and video calls. It will provide encryption in direct messages (DMs), group DMs, voice channels and Go Live streams, for its estimated 200 million monthly users. The social media platform said users will be able to control when end-to-end encryption is in effect and also verify other members. The development builds on experiments Discord began last year with new encryption protocols and other audio and video calling technologies.
How does end-to-end encryption work on Discord?
In a blog afterDiscord announced that its new Dave protocol will follow five key goals: privacy, open and efficient protocol, broad platform support, transparency, and scalability. The company says that no outsider, including Discord itself, will have access to the contents of ongoing audio and video conversations. Media encryption keys are changed every time a user leaves a conversation, and previous keys cannot be decrypted.
The protocol uses industry-standard subprotocols and cryptographic algorithms and is already supported by Discord’s mobile and desktop clients, with support for the remaining clients rolling out next year. When a user initiates a voice or video call, an out-of-band verification code comparison is performed to ensure the other participant in the call is legitimate.
Users can choose to have a persistent identity key pair for each device they use Discord on. This will potentially allow others to store their persistent authentication, without having to repeat the process each time. However, each user must support the end-to-end encryption protocol for it to work. If a non-supporting member is present, the call will be switched to transport-only encryption.
Despite the encryption, Discord says low latency for voice and video isn’t at risk. After DAVE rolls out, it will automatically migrate users to the new protocol versions without any disruption. The protocol will become the default for voice and video in DMs, Group DMs, voice channels, and Go Live streams.
In addition to rolling out the DAVE protocol, Discord has also published a whitepaper and the libraries its customers use to implement it.
