Slack—Slack deliberately chose not to implement end-to-end encryption, prioritizing enterprise management over privacy
Despite widespread use and privacy advocates calling E2E encryption essential, Slack has never offered end-to-end encryption. In 2018, Slack's CISO stated paying customers were more interested in enterprise key management than E2E encryption. Slack encrypts data in transit and at rest but data remains accessible to Slack's systems and personnel, with workspace owners able to monitor all chats including private ones.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Encryption & Privacy | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| User Privacy | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
Mozilla Foundation flagged Slack's lack of end-to-end encryption and employer monitoring capabilities
Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included guide noted Slack lacks end-to-end encryption and allows workspace owners to monitor all chats including private ones. Slack's CISO stated in 2018 that paying customers preferred enterprise key management over E2E encryption.