Most
mainstream messaging apps barely have any encryption at all, making
users’ messages vulnerable to hackers, surveillance programs like the
NSA, and other threats. WhatsApp is one of the first messaging services
to take a stand. The company quietly rolled out an update to its Android
app that features end-to-end encryption, the Verge
reports. WhatsApp partnered with Open Whisper Systems to ensure that
its users’ messages and personal info are as safe as can be.
Now
that WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, the company is unable to
decrypt and pore over users’ messages, even if law enforcement demands
to see them. The only two people in the entire world who will be able to
see your WhatsApp messages, are the person with whom you are
conversing, and others who have access to your phone. WhatsApp took a
page out of TextSecure’s book and reworked the code developed by Open
Whisper Systems to cover its millions of users.
It’s a huge step forward for WhatsApp and the company’s decision to add
encryption could very well inspire others to follow suit. Although a
handful of other messaging apps, such as Cryptocat, Silent Text, and
Telegram offer end-to-end encryption, too, most of them have small user
bases. WhatsApp has 600 million users, making it one of the most popular
messaging apps around. Of course, WhatsApp users on iOS don’t get the
full benefit of encryption — yet. WhatsApp didn’t reveal a timetable for
the release of end-to-end encryption for iOS.
News of WhatsApp’s move toward full encryption comes hot of the heels of
a recent report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF),
ProPublica, and the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy,
which tested the most popular messaging apps and found the vast majority
of them offer users little to no protection. The larger the apps, the
worse the security, as Google Hangouts, BlackBerry Messenger, and
Snapchat had some of the lowest scores. WhatsApp also scored poorly in
the test, but it should fare better after this update.
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