Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. The protocol is widely used in applications such as email, instant messaging, and voice over IP, but its use in securing HTTPS remains the most publicly visible.

SSL 3.0 1996 Deprecated in 2015 (RFC 7568)
TLS 1.2 2008 In use since 2008
TLS 1.3 2018 In use since 2018

TLS 1.3

TLS 1.3 is the latest version of the TLS protocol. TLS, which is used by HTTPS and other network protocols for encryption, is the modern version of SSL. TLS 1.3 dropped support for older, less secure cryptographic features, and it sped up TLS handshakes, among other improvements.

TLS 1.3 was defined in RFC 8446 in August 2018. It is based on the earlier TLS 1.2 specification. Major differences from TLS 1.2 include: