WhatsApp continues to work on password-protected encrypted iCloud backups

WhatsApp has been working for over a year on password-protected encrypted iCloud backup, according to WABetaInfo. Today, a report revealed how this feature could work on the iPhone and included some screenshots.

“To prevent unauthorized access to your iCloud Drive backup, you can set a password that will be used to encrypt future backups. This password will be required when you restore from the backup.”

For now, this feature is still being implemented, and there’s no indication about when WhatsApp is going to release it.

WhatsApp already offers end-to-end encryption on chats, video, and audio calls, but this protection doesn’t extend to online backups stored on iCloud. Once on Apple servers, the security of the backup is on Apple, and the company already shared data in the past with authorities when lawfully requested.

This new feature would allow users to encrypt and password-protect their WhatsApp chat history before uploading it to iCloud Drive. WhatsApp says this password is private and won’t be sent to its server, so the chat database and media will be safe from unauthorized access.

The app’s new security feature would come in handy if the company releases it sooner rather than later. After poorly explaining its privacy policy update, other apps like Signal and Telegram saw their user base grow at the expense of WhatsApp.

Now, WhatsApp is focusing on doubling down on security and privacy. If the company can launch this feature soon, it would help make the app even safer and possible restore some of its users.