WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption and its common emphasis on safety is among the USPs of the app. However, earlier this yr, WhatsApp’s integration with Google Drive or iCloud not too long ago got here underneath the crosshair because the backups that the moment messaging device would take and retailer on these cloud-based platforms didn’t take pleasure in the identical encryption safety that the chats had.
Fast ahead to a couple weeks in the past and WhatsApp introduced that it will be bringing end-to-end encrypted backups to its customers. That function lastly goes stay in the present day and can quickly be rolled out to each iOS and Android units with a brand new replace. WhatsApp is asking the transfer “the final step in providing a full end-to-end encrypted messaging experience”.
”With end-to-end encrypted backups, no different messaging service at WhatsApp’s scale will present this degree of safety for individuals’s messages – from sending and transit, to receiving and storing within the cloud,” the corporate stated in a publish.
“For years we’ve offered people the ability to backup their WhatsApp chats so that they can restore their WhatsApp in case they lose their phone or switch phones. We are now rolling out an option for iOS and Android users to create an end-to-end encrypted backup as an additional layer of security for those who want it. If someone chooses to backup their chat history with end-to-end encryption, it will be accessible only to them, and no one will be able to unlock their backup, not even WhatsApp. Neither WhatsApp nor the backup service provider (like Apple) will be able to access their end-to-end encryption key or their end-to-end encrypted backup,” WhatsApp provides.
“You can now secure your end-to-end encrypted backup with either a password of your choice or a 64-digit encryption key that only you know. Neither WhatsApp nor your backup service provider will be able to read your backups or access the key required to unlock it,” the corporate added.
How to create an end-to-end encrypted backup?
To create an end-to-end encrypted backup, customers will first want to verify they’re on the most recent model of WhatsApp. To create a backup, navigate to Settings>Chats>Chat Backups>End-to-End Encrypted Backup, after which observe the prompts to create one.