Although the battle over encryption between the FBI and Apple has currently subsided, the issue of privacy and security in technology continues. Today, WhatsApp is announcing that all messages, photos, phone calls and videos sent over its messaging app will be encrypted end-to-end. This means that no one can access any communications apart from the people in the conversation. This means if WhatsApp is subpoenaed by government for information, WhatsApp will not be able to help them as it simply cannot help them.
WhatsApp has rolled out end-to-end encryption in various forms over the last few years, but has never fully deployed a solution. The announcement today applies to all platforms, allowing WhatsApp users on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and more to communicate with no fear of their messaging being intercepted.
By most reports, WhatsApp is the largest messaging service in the world with over a billion users. Going forward, all of the private communications taking place on the service will be truly private.
Apple’s fight with the FBI over the San Bernardino iPhone spiralled into a (inter)national controversy, so it will be interesting to see if WhatsApp’s move to encryption causes a similar debate. WhatsApp has complied with court orders in the past to release information from its servers with a warrant.
As WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, many people never expected the company to add such security features ever. The move shows the company is truly running autonomous of its parent company. In the interview with Wired, WhatsApp founder Brian Acton said its all about freedoms to let people express themselves.
“Building secure products actually makes for a safer world, (though) many people in law enforcement may not agree with that,” says Acton, who was employee number forty-four at Internet giant Yahoo before co-founding WhatsApp in 2009 alongside Koum, one of his old Yahoo colleagues. With encryption, Acton explains, anyone can conduct business or talk to a doctor without worrying about eavesdroppers. With encryption, he says, you can even be a whistleblower—and not worry.
The secure update is rolling out to all WhatsApp platforms now. Download WhatsApp for free from the iOS App Store.
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I don’t use WhatsApp, but good for them :)
Soon all messaging platforms are going to be using end to end encryption and that’s going to really pissed the FBI and all Law Enforcement off 😂
Telegram has te best Encryption…. Im glad whatsapp did this… Does this mean there will be an app update to this or is this done in the background’
I’ll bet WhatsApp still wants to suck up your entire contacts list.
Just say “No”.
Following Apple’s lead? Do you even know that an app called Telegram existed way before iMessage had encryption?
WhatsApp is a total POS compared to WeChat. It is beyond me why so many people use this crap. Unfortunately many on my team use it but I will keep trying to get them to switch. WeChat has a significantly superior UI, and provides easy access to all attachments with one click. Sorting through past posts to find something in WhatsApp is a total pain in the ass.
Do WeChat offer end to end encryption which this is about? WeChat is a Chinese app, I could easily imagine the Chinese authorities have demanded they can access all comunication on the platform.
Whatsapp teamed up with Open Whisper Systems, the creators of Signal a similar app which have had end to end encryption implemented for quite some time. Open Whisper Systems have helped Whatsapp implement the same protocols and encryption. Granted, the Whatsapp source code isn’t available, but the it is for the Signal app.
Thank you WhatsApp!! Let’s encourage all companies to improve our online security.
So another mega-rich US corporation providing communications support for terrorism ?
Whether the average kid needs this sort of encryption for chatting to their mates is dubious – and I surely don’t need it – but this sort of guy surely does want it …
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35893097
Just convicted for plotting to (a) run down US servicemen outside a UK airbase with his truck (b) hack their head off (c) detonate an improvised bomb when the cops arrived to arrest him. Relative in IS, in Syria, encouraging him and passing instructions on how to build the bomb … via encrypted messaging. This plot a re-run of another one where they did run down and hack the head off a British soldier on a London street.
All us people on the receiving end of the terrorists – assisted by the greedy US corporations – best hope whats-app is as incompetent with it’s encryption as Apple is in locking it’s phones.
How did they ever make stuff go boom before encrypted smartphone apps?
Hi Jake
Before the apps, they went to camps in Afghanistan etc – then got caught on return. Or they used unencrypted comms and got caught. Or they used encrypted comms and attracted attracted attention from the spooks which got them caught. Time after time after time, they got caught BEFORE the bomb went off.
The situations you post here are already there. Never heard about encrypted email? All the other encrypted text app’s. They also could build something themselves. Oh, the Paris attacks where done by simpel SMS! just switch a few words and you will never be caught because you are 1 in 10000000. The problem is safety vs privacy. Like we all know NSA did/do spy on everyone. And like you should know, we all have something to hide, we always do. The best thing is old fashioned police work. Trying to get intelligance about a group of people. Infiltrate etc.
Governments are spring on each other, why? USA hacked Merkels phone… And yes i feel i trust the government i have now in Belgium, but what in 10 years?
Martijn – The big issue with WhatsApp is it’s wide usage by the kids. In the UK the use of social media to approach kids about radicalisation to Jihad or for grooming prior to child abuse is a serious threat. If WhatsApp deliberately make their service entirely impossible to supervise either by cops – or by WhatsApp themselves – then that is serious.
I’m not calling for a return to uncontrolled surveillance like they had a few years ago. This has to be where there is a specific threat – as you say it is about privacy AND safety, not one or the other.
As for the spies spying on other governments – that’s what spies are for. If Merkel and her own spies are too dumb to protect the communications of a head of state, that is her problem, not ours.
You all should checkout Threema.
TextSecure -> Signal … WhatsApp is using Moxie Marlanspike technology here; he created TextSecure. WhatsApp didn’t follow iMessage, it followed TextSecure and fully partnered with Moxie’s company to get this done.
Telegram is not secure, they have a roll your own encryption setup that can’t be trusted.
Threema isn’t necessary when you have TextSecure (now Signal) … Signal is free, Threema is not.
You want more security, run your own XMPP server and connect to it with ChatSecure over Tor. There are lots of options for people to increase their level of privacy and security from ALL the bad guys, not just 3 letter agencies; there are other adversaries out there (even if not as well resourced as the NSA or FBI).
Oh and whilst I’m at it, iMessage is no longer considered safe; you need iOS 9.3 at least and then there is a huge kludge to try and keep it safe — lookup references from Matthew Green for the details. TL;DR; iMessage is very broken.
Sounds like time to raise minimum age for WhatsApp to 18 – and enforce it with age verification.
Now they have deliberately set up WhatsApp so that neither law enforcement – nor WhatsApp themselves – can supervise what is happening, it is now a very dangerous place for kids.
Currently they say minimum age 16, but there is no age verification and we see reports where 52% of 8-16 year olds are ignoring these age limits.
We need to legislate to ensure that kids are kept away from high risk products. We do it with alcohol, tobacco, knives etc. Time to do it with WhatsApp.