🔐 Direct messages are now stored encrypted
Since 14 November, all direct messages on bizzfed.de are encrypted at rest in the database (AES-256-GCM), including existing ones. The key is kept separate from the database and is not part of the backups.
What it gives you: anyone who got hold of a database dump or backup would only see ciphertext.
What it is not: not end-to-end encryption. The server encrypts and decrypts messages itself, so the operator can technically still read them. If you write to someone on another instance, the message leaves BizzFed via ActivityPub and is stored under that instance's rules.
Backups from before the change still contain the messages in plaintext and are deleted after 30 days at the latest.
Nothing changes for you. Everything works as before, including Mastodon apps and the data export.
Self-hosting? Encryption is optional and described in INSTALL.md. Details are in our privacy policy: https://bizzfed.de/datenschutz
