Displaylink is ready to make wireless virtual reality setups, well, a reality

It isn’t CES without virtual reality, and this year we saw the first steps toward making wireless VR a reality. At its CES booth, VR company Displaylink explained to us how it aims to bring a fully wireless VR experience to both single and multiplayer VR gaming setups in the near future.

The Displaylink XR setup is designed from the ground up to offer total freedom of movement — no cables, no toppling over furniture, or accidentally yanking over your PC. It’s also the technology powering HTC’s official Vive Wireless Adapter, which works with both the upcoming Vive Pro and legacy Vive headsets.

So, how does Displaylink make this possible? After all, most high-end VR headsets have been notorious for being a tangle of cords, tethering you down to small play areas near your PC, and presenting potential hazards and obstacles to playing. Including a wireless option would require a very quick wireless connection, because of the massive amount of data streaming from the PC to the headset and back again.

“Enabling the very best wireless VR user experience requires a combination of the best technology and partnerships,” said Frank Soqui, general manager of VR and gaming at Intel. “Intel 802.11ad WiGig radios working in conjunction with DisplayLink’s XR codec take HTC’s Vive to a whole new level.”

To do that, the Displaylink technology uses Intel’s WiGig technology — think of a typical WiFi connection on steroids. Connectivity runs over the 60GHz frequency band, which is great for preventing interference with existing Wi-Fi networks. Bandwidth fluctuations are bad for graphics, but Display link’s codec dynamically adjusts the bandwidth in real time, to deliver 90 frames per second with its current build, and up to 120 fps in the future.

You’ll have to wait a little while before you get your hands on one of these wireless adapters — they won’t hit store shelves until the third quarter of 2018. Still, keep an eye out — pre-orders will likely open in advance of the official launch date.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• Windows Mixed Reality news: Here’s everything you need to know
• Killing friction: How Khronos’ OpenXR will standardize virtual reality
• Swing and a miss: Why virtual reality is striking out with sports fans
• Watch 2018 Winter Olympics events in virtual reality thanks to NBC and Intel

Goal Zero’s next-gen Yeti Lithium power stations are packed with new features

At CES 2017, Goal Zero’s Yeti Lithium 3000, a portable power station with plenty of convenient features, impressed us enough to win our Top Tech of CES Award for Outdoor Gear. Goal Zero made an appearance at CES 2018, and Digital Trends checked in to see the current status of the Yeti 3000, which is now available for purchase.

The new edition of the Yeti 3000 has USB-C ports, a USB-PD spec, and Wi-Fi. That last bit is crucial, as it allows you to control the Yeti from anywhere as long as you have a connection, so you can monitor the status of the battery, adjust setting to save power, or just crank up the juice.

“The cool thing about the 3000 is it comes with a really handy roll cart, an extendable handle, it’s got great wheels,” Lisa Janssen of Goal Zero said. “So you can really take it anywhere with you. I can have it at home, I can have it wired in, and then I can take it with me. Say I want to go camping, I want to throw it in the truck for an awesome tailgating party, it’s really mobile power, on demand, whenever, wherever you need it, without any sort of gasoline, without any sort of noise, and without the maintenance that comes with a traditional gas inverter.”

The battery will live for an estimated five years, and Goal Zero offers replacement batteries if the need arises. How much time does a single charge get you? Janssen estimated that with a full-sized refrigerator plugged in, a single charge would last about 40 hours.

As the name implies, the Yeti Lithium line marks the company’s first foray into the use of lithium power cells in its products. This delivers significant improvements in terms of both size and weight over the previous generation, which used lead-acid batteries instead. In comparison, the new Goal Zero Yeti Lithium 1000 weighs just 40 pounds — that’s 63 pounds lighter than the Yeti 1250, which has been on the market for several years. The new model is also more compact, shaving several inches off of its predecessor’s dimensions.

In addition to making strides in reducing the size of these portable generators, Goal Zero has also improved the way they work with other devices. The new AC inverter found on the Yeti Lithium models is now capable of putting out more than 1,500 watts of pure sine wave power, which translates to better compatibility with a wider variety of devices. In addition to charging smartphones, tablets, and laptops, these new batteries are also capable of running a portable refrigerator, space heaters,  power tools, and other high-capacity devices, all without creating excess noise or fumes, as a traditional gas-powered generator would.

This being a Goal Zero product, the new Yeti Lithium line can be recharged using a solar panel, or it can be plugged into a wall outlet at home or 12-volt port in your car. The next-generation generators also feature pass-through charging, which allows users to power up their mobile devices while continuing to charge the battery pack at the same time.

A new smart screen integrated onto the front of the Yeti Lithium provides constant monitoring of power consumption, showing how much is being drained by the gadgets that are plugged into it at any given time. That same screen also displays the time remaining until it’s full or empty, as well as an easy-to-read battery indicator for the current charge level. In other words, it helps take all of the guesswork out of knowing just how much power you still have at your disposal.

The Yeti 3000 is currently available from Goal Zero for $3,000. If you’re in the market for a power station, we’ve rounded up the best of them.

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• 2019 Porsche Cayenne S first drive review
• The best gaming laptops you can buy

Western Digital’s USB-C storage stick may be tiny, but it’s capacity is huge

Western Digital introduced new SanDisk-branded products during the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, including the world’s smallest USB-C external storage stick, which has a not-so-small capacity of 1TB. Western Digital said the device was just a prototype, so the company couldn’t commit to a release date or price. But given that Dell’s just-revealed Thunderbolt 3-based storage stick with a 1TB capacity will set you back $799, this tiny USB-C drive could cost a pretty penny, too. 

The benefits of the SanDisk prototype are twofold. The drive will be compatible with mobile devices, laptops, and desktops that are now adopting USB-C connectivity. The capacity is also incredibly huge for the drive’s physical size, eliminating the need to carry a wallet-size external drive in your pocket. Unfortunately, we don’t know the read and write speeds of this device. although the USB-C port supports up to 5Gbps transfer speeds. 

The prototype’s eventual retail pricing will likely depend on the type of flash technology used in the stick. There are plenty of external SSDs sold on the market with 1TB of storage for around $350, such as the Samsung T5 Portable SSD with read and write speeds of up to 540MB/s. It measures 2.3 x 0.4 x 3.0 inches, which isn’t exactly monstrous in your pocket, but nowhere near as slim as the SanDisk prototype. 

The upcoming stick-shaped Dell Portable Thunderbolt SSD relies on the same storage technology used in its desktops and laptops, and promises up to 2,650MB/s read and write rates. But it’s also backed by Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, supporting data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, or 5,000MB/s. That means it has access to a PC’s internal fast lanes to provide internal-like speeds in an external device. 

That said, there’s a good chance SanDisk’s 1TB USB-C stick could cost somewhere between the larger $350 units, and Dell’s Thunderbolt 3-based stick. Given SanDisk is Western Digital’s mainstream-focused arm, the company will likely shoot for a mainstream-friendly price that won’t break the bank. But it’s still just a prototype, after all, and may never even see a store shelf despite the hype. 

SanDisk already serves up several storage drives supporting USB-C connectivity, such as the Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive with four capacities ranging from 16GB to 128GB. It supports USB 3.1 Gen1, meaning the connection is theoretically capable of transfer speeds of up to five gigabits per second (Gbps), which translates to 625 megabytes per second (625MB/s). The drives have a read speed of up to 150MB/s (130MB/s on the 16GB model) despite the USB-C connectivity, and a starting price of just $10. 

Another SanDisk-branded USB-C storage solution is the Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C, with five capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB. The write speeds are identical to the Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive collection, only this family of storage sticks includes an additional USB-A connector (3.1 Gen1) mounted at the other end. This group is rather inexpensive as well, with a starting price of a mere $17. 

Western Digital’s USB-C storage stick may be tiny, but it’s capacity is huge

Western Digital introduced new SanDisk-branded products during the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, including the world’s smallest USB-C external storage stick, which has a not-so-small capacity of 1TB. Western Digital said the device was just a prototype, so the company couldn’t commit to a release date or price. But given that Dell’s just-revealed Thunderbolt 3-based storage stick with a 1TB capacity will set you back $799, this tiny USB-C drive could cost a pretty penny, too. 

The benefits of the SanDisk prototype are twofold. The drive will be compatible with mobile devices, laptops, and desktops that are now adopting USB-C connectivity. The capacity is also incredibly huge for the drive’s physical size, eliminating the need to carry a wallet-size external drive in your pocket. Unfortunately, we don’t know the read and write speeds of this device. although the USB-C port supports up to 5Gbps transfer speeds. 

The prototype’s eventual retail pricing will likely depend on the type of flash technology used in the stick. There are plenty of external SSDs sold on the market with 1TB of storage for around $350, such as the Samsung T5 Portable SSD with read and write speeds of up to 540MB/s. It measures 2.3 x 0.4 x 3.0 inches, which isn’t exactly monstrous in your pocket, but nowhere near as slim as the SanDisk prototype. 

The upcoming stick-shaped Dell Portable Thunderbolt SSD relies on the same storage technology used in its desktops and laptops, and promises up to 2,650MB/s read and write rates. But it’s also backed by Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, supporting data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, or 5,000MB/s. That means it has access to a PC’s internal fast lanes to provide internal-like speeds in an external device. 

That said, there’s a good chance SanDisk’s 1TB USB-C stick could cost somewhere between the larger $350 units, and Dell’s Thunderbolt 3-based stick. Given SanDisk is Western Digital’s mainstream-focused arm, the company will likely shoot for a mainstream-friendly price that won’t break the bank. But it’s still just a prototype, after all, and may never even see a store shelf despite the hype. 

SanDisk already serves up several storage drives supporting USB-C connectivity, such as the Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive with four capacities ranging from 16GB to 128GB. It supports USB 3.1 Gen1, meaning the connection is theoretically capable of transfer speeds of up to five gigabits per second (Gbps), which translates to 625 megabytes per second (625MB/s). The drives have a read speed of up to 150MB/s (130MB/s on the 16GB model) despite the USB-C connectivity, and a starting price of just $10. 

Another SanDisk-branded USB-C storage solution is the Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C, with five capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB. The write speeds are identical to the Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive collection, only this family of storage sticks includes an additional USB-A connector (3.1 Gen1) mounted at the other end. This group is rather inexpensive as well, with a starting price of a mere $17. 

YouTube may review its most popular channels for offensive content

It became pretty clear last year that YouTube has a content problem. Last spring, companies like AT&T and Verizon pulled ads because they were found to be appearing alongside extremist videos. And it was hit with another round of ad-pulling later in the year when reports surfaced that a portion of the site’s children’s content turned out to be not so kid-friendly. Now, following the uproar over Logan Paul’s Aokigahara forest video, YouTube may begin vetting the videos posted by its most popular channels, according to Bloomberg.

Paul’s channel was one of YouTube’s Google Preferred accounts — a group of top-tier, highly viewed channels that Google sells ad space on at a higher rate. YouTube pulled Paul’s Preferred status yesterday as part of its response to his video, but for content creators that still have that status, those Preferred accounts will now reportedly be vetted in order to make sure their content is appropriate for the brands buying ad space on the videos.

According to Bloomberg’s source, Google will use both human moderators and AI to spot videos that may not be appropriate for ads. In a statement to Bloomberg, a Google spokesperson said, “We built Google Preferred to help our customers easily reach YouTube’s most passionate audiences and we’ve seen strong traction in the last year with a record number of brands. As we said recently, we are discussing and seeking feedback from our brand partners on ways to offer them even more assurances for what they buy in the Upfronts.”

Via: Bloomberg

Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ trailer shows a vast cyberpunk world

We’ve been looking forward to Netflix’s take on Blade Runner for a while now. Altered Carbon, based on the novel of the same name, even made an appearance at CES this year. Now there’s a brand-new trailer to get us all excited for the upcoming sci-fi series, full of body horror, murder and (apparently) some funny moments.

In the upcoming television show, a rich man 300 years in the future (played by Rome‘s James Purefoy) needs his own murder solved. So he resurrects and hires Takeshi Kovacs, a soldier killed in action 250 years previously, to investigate. The show looks impressively large, with stunning environments and sets. It’s a serious throwback to the cyberpunk vision of novels like William Gibson’s Neuromancer and, of course, Blade Runner, itself based on a Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Altered Carbon is set to debut on Netflix this Februrary 2nd.

Via: The Verge

Source: Netflix/YouTube

Presenting the Best of CES 2018 winners!

Finally, after long hours of debating on which of our finalists should win our Best of CES awards this year, we’ve made our decisions. Below is our list of winners for each category, as well as Best of the Best and People’s Choice. Congratulations to all winners and finalists!

Best Accessibility Tech: Xenoma e-skin pajamas

Accessibility has become a major theme at CES, and it’s one of the harder categories to judge because of all the potentially life changing tech on the floor. But Xenoma’s e-skin pajamas took the prize this year thanks to its innovative fabric sensors that can stand up to the abuse of a washing machine and don’t need any sort of liquid or gel to keep conductivity with your skin. — Terrence O’Brien, Managing Editor

Best Startup: Black Box VR

Black Box VR is building the gym of the future. Using the HTC Vive, motion-tracking controllers and specially designed workout equipment, Black Box turns exercise into a video game. The plan is to set up a boutique gym in San Francisco this year, where members can strap into a game, work out, and attempt to land on the local leaderboards. This is just the beginning of the VR fitness market. — Jessica Conditt, Senior Reporter

Best Digital Health and Fitness Product: L’Oreal UV Sense

The smaller a device is, the more wearable it becomes, and that’s one of the reasons that L’Oreal’s UV Sense is so intriguing. It’s a UV sensor no bigger than a thumbnail that tells you, via your smartphone, how much sun exposure you’ve received each day. The benefits are twofold: Not only could this help prevent skin cancer, it’s also a key step on a micro-wearable computing journey that could revolutionize the world. — Dan Cooper, Senior Editor

Best Wearable: L’Oreal UV Sense

For a while, the phrase “wearable” was primarily synonymous with “fitness tracker you probably wear on your wrist.” L’Oreal’s tiny UV Sense tracker shows just how much the definition of wearable has changed, while also providing a very concrete, specific benefit. The tiny sensor requires no battery, it just attaches to your fingernail and tracks UV exposure — the data is picked up by your phone. Hopefully, this is a precursor to other minimally-invasive health trackers we’ll see in the future. — Dan Cooper, Senior Editor

Best Transportation Technology: Toyota e-Palette

The automotive world is flooded with the word mobility. It’s become shorthand for ride-hailing and car sharing. Toyota saw mobility and decided that in addition to getting people around, it’s important to transport their goods and their small business. The e-Palette is a vehicle that resembles a train car, but more than that, it’s an opportunity for businesses big and small to take retail and delivery to the next level. It can be a taxi, food truck, flower mart, delivery truck, office or even a place to sleep. It’s a blank slate on wheels and in this quickly changing world, that might be exactly what we need. — Roberto Baldwin, Senior Editor

Best Home Theater Product: Optoma 4K Alexa Projector

Why don’t you already have a projector? Thanks to recent advances in DLP tech we’re running out of excuses for sticking with smallish TVs. The Optoma HD51A combines quality and convenience — courtesy of its new link to Alexa voice commands — with a price that will fit many home theater budgets. — Richard Lawler, Senior News Editor

Best Connected Home Product: Lenovo Smart Display

At a show full of connected fridges and smart appliances, it’s the Lenovo Smart Display that gets the prize for Best Connected Home. It’s one of the first smart displays in the Google ecosystem and it’s, at this point anyway, definitely the best. Its stellar Google Assistant implementation combined with great design makes this everything we wish the Echo Show was, and more. — Nicole Lee, Senior Editor

Best Innovation (Disruptive Tech): Toyota e-Palette

If Toyota has its way, in the not-so-distant future your favorite retail store or restaurant will come to you. The potential for the e-Palette to bring an autonomous vehicle that can not only change the delivery market, but bring an entire small shop to you, is pretty insane. Ditto for a food truck or ride-sharing service. There are a lot of uses for this vehicle, all of which take us further into our self-driving future. And with e-Palette, Toyota shows how technology can impact not only cars, trucks or buses, but business as a whole. — Billy Steele, Senior News Editor

Best Phone or Mobile Device: Lenovo Miix 630

This Windows 10 2-in-1 may seem like an odd choice, but it fits the bill because of what’s inside it: A Snapdragon 835 chipset, just like the one in your phone. As a result, the Lenovo Miix 630 is incredibly fast to wake up, and its battery can withstand up to 20 hours of use on a single charge. Throw in an excellent keyboard and the ability to add a SIM card inside for on-the-go data and we just might have the perfect machine for road warriors — Chris Velazco, Senior Mobile Editor

Best TV Product: LG 2018 C-Series OLED

LG’s next batch of OLED TVs are even smarter and better looking than before. The C8-series, the step above the entry-level B8, sports the company’s fast new A9 processor, which is put to good use powering the newly added Google Assistant. LG’s own tech isn’t going anywhere, instead it’s now working together with Google to deliver a complete TV experience. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Editor

Best Gaming Product: HTC Vive Pro

HTC is already a leader of the PC VR world with the Vive, and its latest headset upgrades the original model in a few crucial ways. The HTC Vive Pro adds integrated 3D audio, a more comfortable head strap, dual front-facing cameras, two mics and beefed-up resolution — 2880 x 1600 combined and 615 pixels per inch. The Vive Pro is a slight but welcome update that keeps the VR industry moving in the right direction. — Jessica Conditt, Senior Reporter

Best Unexpected Product: My Special Aflac Duck

A corporate cuddly toy isn’t typical fare for the Best of CES, but Aflac’s Special Duck certainly deserved a place. Designed to support children diagnosed with cancer, it has features like a port-a-cath with an RFID chip for children to familiarize themselves with chemotherapy treatment, as well as emoji cards which allow the duck to express the child’s emotions for them. It’s also cute, fluffy, and cuddly. Aflac has plans to get the toy to all children diagnosed with cancer in the US, free of charge. It’s hard to argue with that plan. — Mat Smith, UK Bureau Chief

Best Sports Tech: Prevention Biometrics Head Impact Monitor System (HIMS)

Prevent Biometrics’ mouthguard combines advanced sensors with connectivity that could improve and save the lives of athletes. When a severe collision is detected, medical staff on the sidelines are alerted immediately, offering the best chance of a proper response to injury. With long-running controversy concerning concussions in football and other competitive sports, it’s sports tech with significance. — Mat Smith, UK Bureau Chief

Best PC or Tablet: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Not content with an incremental update to its popular Thinkpad X1 line of flagship laptops this year, Lenovo added meaningful improvements like a built-in privacy shutter and twin far-field mics for excellent voice control from a distance. Add a sumptuous Dolby Vision HDR display, a comfortable keyboard, embedded eSIM and Alexa support incoming, and the Thinkpad X1 Carbon is a well-rounded laptop that bundles the best tech of 2018. — Cherlynn Low, Senior Reviews Editor

Best Robot or Drone: Sony AIBO

Sony’s adorable robot dog is back. This time, AIBO is more intelligent, connected and agile. As well as being a pettable companion, its on-board camera allows it to act as an adorably mobile webcam. Its OLED eyes are extremely expressive, and its WiFi and LTE connectivity allow it to function on the move. It’s a true return to form for perhaps the most popular consumer robot ever. — Aaron Souppouris, Features Editor

Best Vision of the Future (Smart City): Wi-Fiber Intelli-Platform Integrated Streetlights

We want our cities to be smart, but often the cost of accomplishing such a feat would be eye-watering even for the flushest of folks. Consequently, companies are looking for ways to bolt on smart city equipment to existing infrastructure. Wi-Fiber has built a lamppost head that contains security cameras, IoT and municipal WiFi equipment within its slender body. It even gives basic street lighting an upgrade, offering the ability to change color or flash to direct emergency services straight to where the crisis is. — Dan Cooper, Senior Editor

Best of the Best: Toyota e-Palette

Technology is supposed to open up new opportunities. But sometimes it keeps us in a well defined box based on a company’s profit plan. At CES, Toyota introduced its own sort of box, the e-Palette. The rolling rectangle will be whatever the owners dreams up. A delivery van, a mobile retail space, an office, maybe even the most obvious, a food truck. Available in different sizes and open to whatever its owner can come up with, Toyota’s concept represents opportunity to large corporations. But more importantly, to small businesses. — Roberto Baldwin, Senior Editor

People’s Choice Winner: Dell x Nikki Reed Circular Collection Jewelry

Nearly 29,000 people voted in our People’s Choice poll, and after 24 hours, there was a clear, undisputed winner. With over 30 percent of the vote (for context: second place only received 9 percent of the vote), the winner of our People’s Choice award this year is the Dell x Nikki Reed Circular Collection Jewelry. It turns out that thousands of people were big fans of Dell and Nikki Reed’s collaboration to recycle expired computer parts and make them into rings and earrings. Congratulations! — Nicole Lee, Senior Editor

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Facebook to Overhaul News Feed With More Content From Family and Friends, Less From Publishers

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this afternoon announced some major changes that are coming to the Facebook News Feed, which will cut down on the content displayed from publishers to instead highlight more content from family and friends.

According to Zuckerberg, feedback from Facebook users has suggested content from businesses, brands, and media is crowding out personal content from friends, something Facebook wants to correct. Rather than aiming to help Facebook users find relevant content, it will now help users find “meaningful social interactions.”

Based on this, we’re making a major change to how we build Facebook. I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.

Zuckerberg says that it will take months to roll out the new focus to all of its products, but the first change will be coming to the News Feed, which will feature more content from family, friends, and groups. Less public content will be displayed, and what is displayed, should encourage meaningful interactions.

As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.

Through implementing these changes, Zuckerberg expects to see engagement and the time people spend on Facebook go down, but the time that is spent on Facebook “will be more valuable.” Doing the right thing, he says, will be “good for the community” and Facebook’s business over the long term.

Tag: Facebook
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Microsoft and Signal team up to bring end-to-end encryption to Skype

As an extra layer of security, Skype has released a preview of end-to-end encrypted “Private Conversations.” Currently available for Skype Insiders, users will now have more protection over the content they send within conversations.

Using Open Whisper System’s Signal Protocol, Private Conversations provides end-to-end encryption for Skype audio calls, along with any text messages, images, videos, and audio you send. All content will also be hidden while on the app, so any Preview messages you send won’t show up in your Chats or notifications.

Open Whisper Systems has become the industry standard when it comes to encrypted communication. WhatsApp also worked with the organization back in 2016, to develop its own form of end-to-end encryption.

Some might even be familiar with Open Whisper’s own messaging service app called Signal, available for Android and iOS. In addition to its already existing end-to-end encrypted voice-calling and chat service, it beta tested encrypted video calls last year as well.

You can try Skype’s preview by selecting “New Private Conversation” when in the compose menu or from the profile of who you want to send the message to. The recipient will then have to accept your invite, which will specifically state the private conversation will be secured with end-to-end encryption and there will also be a lock icon next to the contact’s name.

But it’s important to note that you can only participate in a private conversation from one device at a time. This means that you can switch the conversation over to another device, but your message history won’t sync and you’ll have to resend the invitation to your contact.

When it comes to ending a Private Conversation, you’ll receive a confirmation window letting you know it has officially ended. You can also delete it the same way you would with a regular chat, and recover it by starting a Private Conversation with the same contact again.

But there are limits when it comes to your capabilities — you’re unable to edit a message or forward any files. From the chat window, you can only send files, audio messages, and emoticons.

For now, Skype is using the preview phase to gain feedback from Skype Insiders before releasing the feature to all of its users. It’s currently available on the latest version of Skype for desktop, along with iOS and Android.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Dish Network customers can be thankful for the end of the CBS blackout
• Google’s lightweight Maps Go app is built for low-end Android devices
• High-end gaming comes to CES with MSI’s curved gaming monitors
• The 10 best messaging apps for Android and iOS
• How to record a Skype call

Microsoft and Signal team up to bring end-to-end encryption to Skype

As an extra layer of security, Skype has released a preview of end-to-end encrypted “Private Conversations.” Currently available for Skype Insiders, users will now have more protection over the content they send within conversations.

Using Open Whisper System’s Signal Protocol, Private Conversations provides end-to-end encryption for Skype audio calls, along with any text messages, images, videos, and audio you send. All content will also be hidden while on the app, so any Preview messages you send won’t show up in your Chats or notifications.

Open Whisper Systems has become the industry standard when it comes to encrypted communication. WhatsApp also worked with the organization back in 2016, to develop its own form of end-to-end encryption.

Some might even be familiar with Open Whisper’s own messaging service app called Signal, available for Android and iOS. In addition to its already existing end-to-end encrypted voice-calling and chat service, it beta tested encrypted video calls last year as well.

You can try Skype’s preview by selecting “New Private Conversation” when in the compose menu or from the profile of who you want to send the message to. The recipient will then have to accept your invite, which will specifically state the private conversation will be secured with end-to-end encryption and there will also be a lock icon next to the contact’s name.

But it’s important to note that you can only participate in a private conversation from one device at a time. This means that you can switch the conversation over to another device, but your message history won’t sync and you’ll have to resend the invitation to your contact.

When it comes to ending a Private Conversation, you’ll receive a confirmation window letting you know it has officially ended. You can also delete it the same way you would with a regular chat, and recover it by starting a Private Conversation with the same contact again.

But there are limits when it comes to your capabilities — you’re unable to edit a message or forward any files. From the chat window, you can only send files, audio messages, and emoticons.

For now, Skype is using the preview phase to gain feedback from Skype Insiders before releasing the feature to all of its users. It’s currently available on the latest version of Skype for desktop, along with iOS and Android.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Dish Network customers can be thankful for the end of the CBS blackout
• Google’s lightweight Maps Go app is built for low-end Android devices
• High-end gaming comes to CES with MSI’s curved gaming monitors
• The 10 best messaging apps for Android and iOS
• How to record a Skype call