WhatsApp Completes End-To-End Encryption Rollout
On Tuesday, Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp the popular mobile messaging app with more than a billion active monthly users, declared that it had completed its rollout of end-to-end encryption which means that every message, video, photo, and voice message sent on the service will be unable to be seen by any third party, including law enforcement and WhatsApp itself.
The company itself not able to decrypt users’ messages to access them because it does not hold the encryption keys. So WhatsApp will be unable to be compelled to hand over messaging data — even if served with a warrant by authorities demanding access.
The idea is simple:as long as user (and the person you are messaging) are using the latest version of WhatsApp, all of the messages, videos, photos, files and voice messages swapped will be end-to-end encrypted so the only person that will be able to read or see messages will be the person user sent them to. WhatsApp compares it to the sort of privacy user get with face-to-face conversation.
WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton officially announced the rollout on the company's blog:
"From now on when you and your contacts use the latest version of the app, every call you make, and every message, photo, video, file, and voice message you send, is end-to-end encrypted by default, including group chats.
The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private — sort of like a face-to-face conversation.
If you’re interested in learning more about how end-to-end encryption works, you can read about it here. But all you need to know is that end-to-end encrypted messages can only be read by the recipients you intend. And if you’re using the latest version of WhatsApp, you don’t have to do a thing to encrypt your messages: end-to-end encryption is on by default and all the time.
“I grew up in the USSR during communist rule and the fact that people couldn't speak freely is one of the reasons my family moved to the United States,” he said.
Previously WhatsApp had started developing the feature last year to users, but until today it was not available to everyone, and it wasn’t essentially turned on by default, while now encrypted messages is now the default setting for the 1 billion plus WhatsApp app users across Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, and Nokia and BlackBerry devices.
End-to-end encryption will not change how we regularly use WhatsApp, but it will make it harder for WhatsApp to allow law enforcement, and governments access to our reserved communications, even if they have a permission. Ideally, now WhatsApp is one of the most secure ways to electronically converse with people across the world and various platforms. It is basically a secure method of communication. WhatsApp's rollout of end-to-end encryption protects cyber-criminals, telecoms, hackers and even governments from accessing the messages you've sent to other WhatsApp users. The idea behind end-to-end encryption is that our messages, media, and calls are now secured from falling into the wrong hands.
How do you enable End-to-end encryption?
End-to-end encryption on WhatsApp is encouraged automatically. There is no requirement to turn on settings to safe user messages. WhatsApp said it will inform users of the encryption status for chats, including demonstrating a notice in the messaging screen, during this beginning roll-out phase.