Encrypted Spaces Publicly Released, Former Signal Developers Build Encrypted Collaboration Foundation

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) has become the standard privacy protection technology for messaging apps. However, its model of “two ends of a simple pipe” does not fit well with complex multi-user collaboration environments like Slack, Discord, or Google Docs. To address this, former Signal developers, researchers from Harvard University and Microsoft Research have unveiled a new encryption foundation called “Encrypted Spaces.” This project is a set of open-source libraries that enable “spaces” where multiple users can simultaneously edit data, invite or remove participants, all under the protection of E2EE.

Background: E2EE Limitations and New Needs

Traditional E2EE is specialized for protecting point-to-point communication between sender and receiver. The Signal protocol is the most widely used standard in this area, implemented on billions of devices including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. However, modern work and life are shifting toward groupware where multiple people edit documents simultaneously, manage permissions per channel, and add or remove new members. In such environments, servers must manage complex state without knowing the content of the data.

During this transition, encryption technology is also evolving. In particular, the development of Zero-Knowledge Proofs allows verifying that encrypted data meets certain conditions without revealing its content. Encrypted Spaces combines these technologies to achieve advanced collaboration features without compromising privacy.

Technical Features:

Next Generation of the Signal Protocol

Encrypted Spaces is developed by a team that includes Trevor Perrin, co-creator of the Signal protocol. He is now working with Nora Trapp (former Signal technical lead), currently at Harvard University’s Applied Social Media Lab, and researchers from Microsoft Research.

The system is provided not as a single encryption protocol, but as a set of open-source code libraries that application developers can easily use. The preview version enables the following features:

• Real-time collaborative editing by multiple users (similar to Google Docs)
• Group conversations in channels or rooms (similar to Slack or Discord)
• Inviting participants and revoking permissions
• Storing and sharing data on servers

All of these operations are performed without any eavesdropper on the server or network being able to read the data. Nora Trapp told Wired, “We’re at a technological inflection point where we can inject encryption and privacy. We want to provide the technical foundation for developers to build these apps in a way that protects privacy.”

Architecture and Role of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

The core of Encrypted Spaces is using zero-knowledge proofs to verify the integrity of encrypted data. For example, when a user edits part of a document, the server can confirm that the change has the correct format. The content itself remains encrypted, so the server does not know what was changed.

Matt Green, a cryptography professor at Johns Hopkins University, described Encrypted Spaces as the “next generation of the Signal protocol.” He notes that the system functions as a form of functional encryption that enables operations on actual data, allowing complex collaborative work while preserving privacy.

Significance for Developers

Currently, many collaboration tools force a trade-off between privacy protection and functionality. Slack and Discord offer team-level encryption, but the server typically has access to metadata and message content. Real-time editing tools like Google Docs store the entire document in plaintext on the server.

Encrypted Spaces fundamentally reconsiders these trade-offs. By using these libraries, developers can build E2EE-enabled collaboration apps without needing deep encryption expertise. The project is open source, allowing anyone to access the code and integrate it into their own applications.

Challenges and Future Outlook

The preview release is just an early stage. Several challenges remain before it can be used in production environments:

• Performance: Operations using zero-knowledge proofs are computationally expensive, which may cause latency issues in large-scale scenarios with many concurrent users.
• Standardization: To become an industry standard, Encrypted Spaces needs to establish interoperability with other protocols and platforms.
• Adoption Hurdles: Existing platforms like Slack, Discord, and Google Docs already have massive user bases. Convincing both developers and users to migrate to a new encryption foundation will require strong arguments.

The Wired article positions Encrypted Spaces as representing an evolution from a “simple pipe” to a “space.” With growing privacy concerns, it will be interesting to see how widely this project is adopted.

Unlike hardware news such as Valve to Launch Steam Machine and Steam Frame This Summer, in terms of platform privacy design, this can be seen as part of the trend toward protecting user data, similar to the on-device processing discussed in Apple Intelligence Full-Scale Launch, Siri AI Revamp in iOS 27. Also, as investment in the open-source ecosystem grows, such as Cloudflare Acquires VoidZero to Enhance Vite/Astro Development, the contributions Encrypted Spaces receives from the developer community will be key.

Editorial View

In the short term, Encrypted Spaces has the potential to offer an alternative to existing Slack or Google Workspace, especially for privacy-focused startups and enterprises. In highly sensitive industries like those subject to EU data regulations, healthcare, and legal fields, there is certainly demand for collaboration tools with true E2EE. Within the next six months, we can expect to see several prototype apps using these libraries.

In the long run, Encrypted Spaces is significant in terms of democratizing encryption technology. Just as the Signal protocol established the E2EE standard for messaging, this system could become the standard for encryption across collaboration in general. However, achieving that will require large-scale performance validation and improved developer experience. The current computational cost of zero-knowledge proofs still poses challenges for high-frequency operations like real-time collaborative editing.

From our editorial standpoint, this project stands at a crossroads: will it remain an academic achievement, or will it actually bring change to the ecosystem? The fundamental choice users make between privacy and convenience will determine long-term adoption. The vision of “encrypted spaces” presented by Encrypted Spaces is valuable as a countermeasure to modern surveillance capitalism. But its realization requires active participation from the developer community and corresponding actions from existing platforms.

References

• Wired: “Signal Alums Reveal ‘Encrypted Spaces,’ a System for Making Private Collaboration Apps” — published June 11, 2026 (https://www.wired.com/story/signal-alums-release-encrypted-spaces-a-new-system-for-building-private-collaboration-apps/)