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matrix-spec-proposals/proposals/4381-remove-plaintext-sende...

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MSC4381: Remove plaintext sender key

MSC3700 deprecated the plaintext sender_key and device_id fields in events encrypted with the m.megolm.v1.aes-sha2 algorithm. For backwards compatibility reasons, sending the fields is still recommended. The deprecation was merged over 3 years ago and released as a part of Matrix v1.3.

Proposal

This proposal removes the sender_key and device_id fields in events encrypted with the m.megolm.v1.aes-sha2 algorithm. Clients SHOULD NOT include the fields in new messages anymore.

Potential issues

Clients that haven't been updated in years may still rely on the deprecated fields. However, there is a good chance that such clients will also be affected by the upcoming exclusion of unverified devices.

As mentioned in MSC3700, this will make debugging encryption issues harder.

Alternatives

Deprecated fields are meant to be removed eventually, so the only real alternatives are un-deprecating the fields or switching away from Megolm entirely.

Security considerations

There are only benefits in terms of security, as removing the fields will realize the privacy and security benefits mentioned in MSC3700.