Google Messages "QR pairing is going away soon." Solutions?

hemlockiv

I am not logged into a Google Account on my Graphene phone. When I pair Google Messages to a web browser with QR, I now get a popup that says, "QR pairing is going away soon," and prompts me to sign in with Google.

The reason I liked Google Messages for Web so much is that it's an end-to-end encrypted connection from the Android device to the browser client. If and when QR code pairing gets totally disabled, does anyone have any ideas how to keep messages private from Google servers?

For example, has anyone tried signing into their phone with a burner Google account, using that account to pair Messages for Web in a browser, then signing out of Google on both devices? Do the devices stay paired after signing out?

Kamika242

hemlockiv how to keep messages private from Google servers?

Google messages never was private, encrypted or not, Google reads everything and also Meta does in FB-Messenger and Whatsapp. Google Messages is Google's own app and all traffic is routed over Google servers, no matter if app or browser.

hemlockiv

Kamika242 Lying and fearmongering is not productive. There is no evidence that Google backdoored its e2ee algorithm, and Facebook/WhatsApp has no relevance to this conversation.

de0u

Kamika242 The forum moderators have expressed distaste for unfounded alarmist claims. If one or another messaging system "reads everything", then that should be visible to some security researcher who has reverse-engineered the program and can pinpoint an encryption key being leaked. Or perhaps a whistleblower will provide testimony or evidence.

Here is an example: in 2020 the University of Toronto's Citizen lab released a report on Zoom's encryption at the time, which was found wanting (and was replaced by Zoom).

For this forum to be a source of high-quality information, claims should have some factual basis. This is arguably especially true of claims that somebody is cheating.