End to end encryption by default

By default, Element will create encrypted DM rooms if the user you are chatting with has keys uploaded on their account. For private room creation, Element will default to encryption on but give you the choice to opt-out.

Disabling encryption by default

Set the following on your homeserver's /.well-known/matrix/client config:

{
    "io.element.e2ee": {
        "default": false
    }
}

Disabling encryption

Set the following on your homeserver's /.well-known/matrix/client config:

{
    "io.element.e2ee": {
        "force_disable": true
    }
}

When force_disable is true:

• all rooms will be created with encryption disabled, and it will not be possible to enable encryption from room settings.
• any io.element.e2ee.default value will be disregarded.

Note: If the server is configured to forcibly enable encryption for some or all rooms, this behaviour will be overridden.

Setting up recovery

By default, Element strongly encourages (but does not require) users to set up recovery so that you can access history on your new devices as well as retain access to your message history and cryptographic identity when you lose all of your devices.

Removal of old settings

Support for the configuration options secure_backup_required and secure_backup_setup_methods in the /.well-known/matrix/client config has been removed.

Setting up recovery is now always recommended to all users by showing a one-off toast and a permanent red dot on the Encryption tab in the Settings dialog. When creating a new recovery key, the UI only supports auto-generated keys. Using an existing (custom) passphrase still works, but is not exposed in the UI when setting up recovery.

Compatibility

The settings above were first proposed under a im.vector.riot.e2ee key, which is now deprecated. Element will check for either key, preferring io.element.e2ee if both exist.