What should I know about encryption?
Encryption is the mathematical process of making a message unreadable except to a person who has the key to decrypt it. Two words carry most of the confusion: where the encryption is, and who holds the key.
Steps
6 steps
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Encryption at rest protects a device you are not holding.
Full-disk encryption scrambles everything stored on the device, so the passcode is what stands between a thief and your files.
Transport-layer encryption protects data on its way.
HTTPS and a VPN encrypt what travels between your device and a server. The service at the other end still reads your message.
End-to-end encryption keeps the company out.
Only the sender and the receiver can decrypt the message. The company that runs the app cannot read it.
Encryption does not hide metadata.
Who you contacted, when, and how often stay visible, and so does the fact that you used encryption at all.
Both kinds together are the real answer.
Encryption at rest and encryption in transit defend against different events, and neither one replaces the other.
Which one you need is a question about trust.
If you do not trust the service provider, you need end to end. If you do trust them, transport-layer encryption may be enough.