By Alex Stamos, Chief Information Security Officer

At Yahoo, we’re committed to protecting our users’ security. That’s why I’m so proud to share some updates on our latest security innovation: an end-to-end (e2e) encryption extension for Yahoo Mail.

Just a few years ago, e2e encryption was not widely discussed, nor widely understood. Today, our users are much more conscious of the need to stay secure online. There is a wide spectrum of use for e2e encryption, ranging from the straightforward (sharing tax forms with an accountant), to the potentially life-threatening (emailing in a country that does not respect freedom of expression). Wherever you land on the spectrum, we’ve heard you loud and clear: We’re building the best products to ensure a more secure user experience and overall digital ecosystem.

While at this stage we’re rolling out the source code for feedback from the wider security industry, our goal is to provide an intuitive e2e encryption solution for all users by the end of the year. Below is a video we demo’d at SXSW that shows what our common sense solution to encryption will look like in Yahoo Mail:

We constantly iterate on our products to provide the best possible experience for our users – and our security features are no exception. To that end, we’ve released the first Yahoo specific e2e encryption extension source code on GitHub. We encourage other mail providers to build compatible solutions, and for security researchers to take a look and report any potential vulnerabilities they find via our Bug Bounty program.

We’d like to thank our partners at Google for their invaluable contribution and we look forward to our continued collaboration.