diff --git a/src/crypto/verification/request/VerificationRequest.js b/src/crypto/verification/request/VerificationRequest.js
index b55cfc672..5c91cca93 100644
--- a/src/crypto/verification/request/VerificationRequest.js
+++ b/src/crypto/verification/request/VerificationRequest.js
@@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ export class VerificationRequest extends EventEmitter {
     }
 
     _generateSharedSecret() {
-        const secretBytes = new Uint8Array(32); // 256bits
+        const secretBytes = new Uint8Array(8);
         global.crypto.getRandomValues(secretBytes);
         this._sharedSecret = olmlib.encodeBase64(secretBytes);
     }