How End-to-End Encryption Works: A Developer's Guide
When a service claims “end-to-end encryption,” they’re making a specific technical promise: that data is encrypted on your device before transmission and can only be decrypted on the recipient’s device. The servers in between handle only ciphertext—encrypted data that looks like random noise without the decryption key.
This matters because it changes the trust model fundamentally. With ordinary transport encryption, you trust that the service provider won’t read your data. With end-to-end encryption, the service provider cannot read your data, even if compelled by law enforcement or compromised by attackers. The mathematical properties of the encryption make it impossible.