diff --git a/tests/test_server.py b/tests/test_server.py
index f836be70..284572a9 100644
--- a/tests/test_server.py
+++ b/tests/test_server.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 import evaluate
 
 from websockets.exceptions import ConnectionClosed
-from whisper_live.server import TranscriptionServer
+from whisper_live.server import TranscriptionServer, BackendType
 from whisper_live.client import Client, TranscriptionClient, TranscriptionTeeClient
 from whisper.normalizers import EnglishTextNormalizer
 
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def test_connection(self, mock_websocket):
             'task': 'transcribe',
             'model': 'tiny.en'
         })
-        self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, "faster_whisper")
+        self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, BackendType.FASTER_WHISPER)
 
     @mock.patch('websockets.WebSocketCommonProtocol')
     def test_recv_audio_exception_handling(self, mock_websocket):
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ def test_recv_audio_exception_handling(self, mock_websocket):
         }),  np.array([1, 2, 3]).tobytes()]
 
         with self.assertLogs(level="ERROR"):
-            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, "faster_whisper")
+            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, BackendType.FASTER_WHISPER)
 
         self.assertNotIn(mock_websocket, self.server.client_manager.clients)
 
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ def test_connection_closed_exception(self, mock_websocket):
         mock_websocket.recv.side_effect = ConnectionClosed(1001, "testing connection closed")
 
         with self.assertLogs(level="INFO") as log:
-            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, "faster_whisper")
+            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, BackendType.FASTER_WHISPER)
             self.assertTrue(any("Connection closed by client" in message for message in log.output))
 
     @mock.patch('websockets.WebSocketCommonProtocol')
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ def test_json_decode_exception(self, mock_websocket):
         mock_websocket.recv.return_value = "invalid json"
 
         with self.assertLogs(level="ERROR") as log:
-            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, "faster_whisper")
+            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, BackendType.FASTER_WHISPER)
             self.assertTrue(any("Failed to decode JSON from client" in message for message in log.output))
 
     @mock.patch('websockets.WebSocketCommonProtocol')
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def test_unexpected_exception_handling(self, mock_websocket):
         mock_websocket.recv.side_effect = RuntimeError("Unexpected error")
 
         with self.assertLogs(level="ERROR") as log:
-            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, "faster_whisper")
+            self.server.recv_audio(mock_websocket, BackendType.FASTER_WHISPER)
             for message in log.output:
                 print(message)
             print()
diff --git a/whisper_live/client.py b/whisper_live/client.py
index a4bd0f67..be0ef470 100644
--- a/whisper_live/client.py
+++ b/whisper_live/client.py
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ def __init__(
         translate=False,
         model="small",
         srt_file_path="output.srt",
-        use_vad=True
+        use_vad=True,
+        secure_connection=False
     ):
         """
         Initializes a Client instance for audio recording and streaming to a server.
@@ -63,8 +64,10 @@ def __init__(
         self.timestamp_offset = 0.0
         self.audio_bytes = None
 
-        if host is not None and port is not None:
-            socket_url = f"ws://{host}:{port}"
+        if host is not None:
+            protocol = "wss" if secure_connection else "ws"
+            port = f":{port}" if port else ""
+            socket_url = f"{protocol}{host}{port}"
             self.client_socket = websocket.WebSocketApp(
                 socket_url,
                 on_open=lambda ws: self.on_open(ws),
@@ -75,7 +78,7 @@ def __init__(
                 ),
             )
         else:
-            print("[ERROR]: No host or port specified.")
+            print("[ERROR]: No host specified.")
             return
 
         Client.INSTANCES[self.uid] = self