Infamous hacker and internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who has been hanging out in New Zealand to avoid U.S. authorities, has released an encrypted video calling service called MegaChat. It’s free, opens in your browser to make audio calls, and offers end-to-end encryption, meaning “Mega shouldn’t have access to users’ encryption keys and shouldn’t be able to decrypt communications,” PCMag explains.
For those wary of government surveillance, the news gets even better: Kim Dotcom announced on Twitter that MegaChat, which is still in beta testing, will eventually support text chat & video conferencing:
We are releasing #MegaChat beta step by step. Starting with video calling today. Text chat & video conferencing will follow soon.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) January 22, 2015
The BBC reports that the news comes as a top EU official argued that companies should be required to submit encryption keys the the government, and just weeks after Prime Minister David Cameron proposed a ban on encrypted texts. President Barack Obama, too, has said that he governments should be able to access encrypted technology to gather intelligence on suspected suspicious activity.
In just a few ours, MegaChat is catching on:
#Mega has over 15 million registered users now. I think #MegaChat could elevate us to 100+ million users by the end of 2015. #Prediction
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) January 22, 2015
HackerNews has step-by-step instructions, but to use the service, simply create a profile at Mega.nz and then call a contact.
(Image: MegaChat)
