New technology to encode messages in Facebook pics

A new technology will now enable Facebook users to encode secret messages in the pictures they upload. Oxford University student and former Google intern Owen-Campbell Moore created the software titled 'Secretbook'.

A new technology will now enable Facebook users to encode secret messages in the pictures they upload.

Oxford University student and former Google intern Owen-Campbell Moore created the software titled 'Secretbook'.

All the user has to do is download the plugin, refresh his Facebook page, and hit Ctrl+Alt+A. A dialogue box will appear which allows the user to upload an image with an encoded message.

The plugin is only available on Google Chrome. Moore said he built it in Chrome to preserve users' privacy.

Running it through a web browser means users can't be detected by Facebook's network analysis, he said.

The technology creates a brand new security threat, as miscreants could potentially use the app to share plans.