‘End-to-end encryption’ of online messaging services is here to stay, and should be welcomed with enthusiasm, not resisted. Its adoption by services such as WhatsApp has admittedly caused some alarm in government circles because of the protection it gives to criminals and terrorist groups, and the restrictions it places on the state’s legitimate and important powers of surveillance. But the fact is that WhatsApp is just one of many services offering encryption – there are now hundreds of similar applications on the market, and millions of customers happily using them. And the technology is even used by government websites, despite the anxieties of a handful of politicians and law enforcement agencies.