WhatsApp backups are getting end-to-end encryption
Facebook has firmly planted its privacy flag in WhatsApp, rather than Facebook Messenger, and now the popular messaging app is getting even more secure thanks to end-to-end encrypted backups.
Previously, although backups were encrypted once they were uploaded to Google Drive or iCloud, they weren’t encrypted during that transfer.
This means that messages are end-to-end encrypted no matter whether they’re being sent, received, stored locally or in the cloud.
Mark Zuckerberg announced the milestone on his Facebook page, saying “We’re adding another layer of privacy and security to WhatsApp: an end-to-end encryption option for the backups people choose to store in Google Drive or iCloud. WhatsApp is the first global messaging service at this scale to offer end-to-end encrypted messaging and backups, and getting there was a really hard technical challenge that required an entirely new framework for key storage and cloud storage across operating systems."
WhatsApp users will have to opt in to the new feature which will soon begin rolling out – it isn’t yet available to beta testers, but those will be the first users to be able try it out before it’s added to the app for what WhatsApp is calling “everyday users”.
