Signal, an open source secure messaging app whose encryption protocols are also used by WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, plans to introduce a new feature that will allow users to quickly blur people's faces when sharing photos in the app.

"Right now, people around the world are marching against racism and police brutality," Signal founder and CEO Moxie Marlinspike wrote in a blog post yesterday (June 3)." At Signal, we support those who have taken to the streets to make their voices heard"

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"One thing is immediately obvious," Marlinspike added. 2020 is a pretty good year to save face."

The next update to Signal, which has been released to Apple and Google but is not yet present in their respective app stores, will add a new photo editing feature that detects faces and blurs them at the touch of a button. It will also allow users to manually blur areas within a photo, Marinspike said.

"It's now easier to give every face a hiding place or draw a blurry trace over something you want to erase," Marlinspike wrote.

"Just tap the new blur tool icon to get started.

Marlinspike added that Signal will soon produce and distribute "versatile face covers." Presumably they could be used both to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and to protect the identity of protesters.