How to keep your chat messages private before October 2025.

The EU’s chat message surveillance push: How to protect your privacy before October 2025

Governments want to scan your chat messages

From October 2025, the European Union is expected to implement sweeping surveillance powers under the initiative called Chat Control. The proposed law mandates scanning of all private communications including encrypted chat messages ostensibly to combat child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

While protecting children is a universal concern, critics argue that this justification is being used to push through what could become the most invasive mass surveillance policy in modern internet history.

If passed, this law will affect not only EU citizens but also users worldwide who rely on EU-based digital services. Even those outside of Europe, such as in Trinidad and Tobago, the US, Canada, or Africa, may feel its ripple effects as governments look to adopt similar measures.

The Trojan Horse: Child safety and surveillance

According to the leaked documents and growing public concern, Chat Control is set to legally require service providers including apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and ProtonMail to scan every message before it is encrypted and sent. This method, known as client-side scanning, effectively renders encryption useless. Before your chat messages even leave your device, they could be analysed, logged, and potentially reported.

The public-facing narrative is focussed on stopping the spread of CSAM, which is a real and serious issue. However, this line of reasoning has repeatedly been used by governments to introduce policies that later become tools for broader surveillance. Once in place, these systems can be quietly repurposed to monitor dissent, political opinions, journalism, and activism any content deemed threatening to the state or its corporate allies.

The global trend towards authoritarian tech

While the policy is spearheaded by the EU, it is far from an isolated development. Similar efforts to erode digital privacy are surfacing globally. Canada, the United States, and parts of Asia and Africa are exploring or have already introduced laws that give governments unprecedented control over digital communication.

What’s more alarming is that the rules often do not apply equally. Politicians, law enforcement, and military officials typically enjoy exemptions, keeping their communications private while stripping that right from the general public.

This surveillance creep is not accidental. It is part of a coordinated global shift towards a highly monitored society. Politicians are pushing tech companies to roll out AI-powered monitoring tools capable of detecting not just illegal content, but also political speech, dissent, or even personal opinions that conflict with the state narrative.

What happens when encryption dies?

End-to-end encryption has long been a pillar of internet privacy. Apps like Signal, Telegram, and ProtonMail are built around the idea that only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The moment this principle is compromised, so is trust in digital communication.

If Chat Control is enforced, encrypted platforms may either shut down operations in the EU or build regional versions that comply with surveillance requirements. Signal, for example, has already indicated it would stop servicing the EU entirely rather than compromise on its encryption standards.

The loss of true end-to-end encryption could also expose users to additional dangers:

Journalists could have their sources exposed.
Activists could be flagged as threats.
Private citizens could be criminalised for messages taken out of context.
Oppressive regimes could adopt the same systems to track down political opponents.

Fighting back: How to reclaim your privacy

Despite the grim outlook, there are still ways to take back control. One of the most effective and resilient tools is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) a method of encrypting your messages and files using a pair of cryptographic keys.

Step 1: Install an OpenPGP tool

Start by downloading a reliable PGP-compatible application such as Kleopatra, available for Windows and Linux. This open-source tool lets you create a pair of keys: a public key to share and a private key to keep secure.

Step 2: Generate your key pair

Using the software, generate a new OpenPGP key pair with a secure passphrase. Your name and email address will be associated with the key, allowing people to send encrypted messages specifically to you.

Step 3: Share your public key

You can post your public key on a website, social media profile, or send it directly to contacts you trust. This key is used by others to encrypt messages for you.

Step 4: Encrypt and send messages

To send a secure message, simply write your text in a note or message field, then use the recipient’s public key to encrypt it. The result is a garbled block of text that can only be decrypted using the recipient’s private key and passphrase.

You can send this encrypted block through any messaging platform email, Signal, even SMS. Without the private key, the content is unreadable.

Step 5: Decrypt messages

When someone sends you an encrypted message using your public key, open your encryption software, paste the message in, and decrypt it using your private key and passphrase. You will then see the original, readable message.

Why PGP still matters

PGP is not new technology it’s been around since 1991 but its decentralised nature and open-source availability make it hard to kill. While not foolproof, PGP is one of the few options left for users who want to keep their chat messages private regardless of which laws are passed.

In the past, governments have tried to suppress or discredit PGP, precisely because it works. When encryption systems are developed that resist easy exploitation, authorities tend to push back—often under the guise of public safety.

PGP, when used correctly, does not rely on third-party servers, backdoors, or trust in corporate platforms. It puts encryption directly in your hands.

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Will it become illegal?

If the EU’s plan becomes law, we may see further criminalisation of tools like PGP or mandatory backdoors. But as of now, using strong encryption is still legal in most jurisdictions. That window may soon close, so the best time to learn and start using encryption tools is now.

Even if chat apps become compromised, PGP offers a way to make communication unreadable to prying eyes. In a world of rising digital authoritarianism, encryption is no longer just a privacy feature it is a form of resistance.

A glimpse into the future: A surveillance state

What happens when your computer can see what you see, hear what you hear, and automatically report you for suspicious behaviour? That’s the future envisioned by Big Tech leaders. Microsoft, for instance, aims to eliminate the keyboard-mouse interface by 2030 in favour of voice-operated AI systems connected to the cloud.

Such tools may improve convenience, but they come at the cost of autonomy. If everything you do every command, every whisper is logged and reviewed, then freedom becomes a performance monitored by algorithms.

This is not science fiction. The infrastructure for this level of monitoring is already being built.

Privacy is not a crime

Surveillance supporters will argue: “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” But this sentiment is misleading and dangerous. Privacy is a right, not a privilege. It protects whistleblowers, victims of abuse, minority voices, and ordinary citizens who simply want to live free from scrutiny.

Governments will always claim they need more power to protect citizens. But every inch of privacy surrendered under that banner becomes a mile of control. And once lost, rights are rarely returned.

Final thoughts

As October 2025 approaches, the global population faces a critical moment in the battle for digital freedom. The plan to scan private chat messages under Chat Control may begin in the EU, but it has global implications. Citizens worldwide must be aware, alert, and equipped to fight back.

Tools like PGP, alternative operating systems like Linux, and encrypted apps are not just tech choices they are acts of resistance. The time to adopt them is now. Protect your messages. Defend your privacy. Guard your rights.

Governments may be watching but that doesn’t mean you have to let them read your chat messages.

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