What Are the Privacy Concerns of Using Skype?įollowing the transformation of Skype into a traditional client-server application, Microsoft became able to access information exchanged through Skype conversations, with the exception of private conversations.Īfter media companies revealed that human contractors review audio recordings of Skype conversations without the permission of the parties to the conversations, Microsoft decided to change its privacy policy in such a way as to inform Skype users that their conversations may be recorded and reviewed.

However, private conversations may prevent Skype users from using features, such as Cortana (Microsoft's digital assistant) and Skype Translator (Skype's speech to speech translation functionality ).

Due to the end-to-end encryption, even Microsoft and other third parties are unable to decrypt the exchanged information. Those wanting the ultimate privacy protection, they can count on Skype private conversations to provide them with just that. One drawback to private conversations is that no more than two people can chat at one time. Anyone willing to have private conversations need to explicitly request their partner to engage in such a conversation by simply selecting “New Private Conversation” from the recipient’s profile or the compose menu.

That's not to say that all current Skype conversations are private. Furthermore, messages exchanged through private communications cannot be deleted or edited. Previews of private conversations do not appear in the regular chat list and notifications.

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