BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) announced on its official blog today that it has begun rolling out a raft of new features. Among the goodies that are available is BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) Protected, a feature that targets enterprises and other customers who are particularly worried about security in messaging.
The new BBM is specifically tailored to the needs of enterprise users. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) announced that it was planning all of these features a few weeks ago when it rolled out the newest update for BBM on Android and iPhone.
How BBM Protected works
The company said today’s rollout of BBM Protected is actually earlier than it had been expecting it to be ready. The feature adds more security to BBM, which was already pretty secure compared to other messaging apps. BBM Protected offers end-to-end encryption, making sure that each message is encrypted separately than as part of a whole conversation.
Both the sender and the recipient have their own unique encryptions. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) uses the FIPS 140-2 certified cryptographic library for the encryption and says it never stores messages sent through BBM on its services.
BlackBerry introduces chat wallpapers
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) also said BBM users have been asking for more personalization options for the popular messaging app. The Canadian smartphone maker introduced chat wallpapers along with BBM Protected today. Users of the app are able to download these new wallpapers from the BBM Shop.
In addition, the company added 16 new emoticons. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) said those who use BBM actually “use tens of millions” of emoticons in BBM chats each day. The app’s users suggested a number of emoticons through Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), the company’s own BBM Channel, and the Inside BlackBerry blog.
Other new BBM features
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) also said it’s now easier for BBM users to add new contacts through email using a link included in the email. The company renamed the Updates tab “Feeds” and raised the file transfer limit for BBOS Device users.
