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Facebook-owned OTT messaging service ramps up privacy features in wake of U.S. iPhone hack.
WhatsApp has added end-to-end encryption to its over-the-top (OTT) voice and messaging service, ramping up its privacy features in the wake of U.S. authorities successfully hacking an iPhone.
"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," said WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton, in a blog post on Tuesday. "No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us."
WhatsApp has always maintained the privacy of its users, refusing to open up its platform to advertisers, even after its 2014 acquisition by Facebook, a company funded through advertising.
Tensions over privacy were heightened recently when the U.S. FBI revealed it successfully hacked into an iPhone belonging to slain San Bernardino gunman Syed Farook, without any assistance from Apple, which prides itself on the security of its devices.
Apple has pledged to improve the security of its products, but it seems WhatsApp does not want to wait.
"While we recognise the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people’s information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and rogue states," Koum and Acton said.
Rolling out end-to-end encryption is also likely to make WhatsApp a more attractive proposition for businesses.
However, it could also cause WhatsApp, which boasts more than 1 billion users, to come to blows with governments that want to spy on citizens in the name of maintaining security.
BlackBerry, which offers encrypted email and messaging services to enterprises, has had showdowns with local law enforcement in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., India and Pakistan, for instance.
"Encryption is one of the most important tools governments, companies, and individuals have to promote safety and security in the new digital age," said Koum and Acton. "While WhatsApp is among the few communication platforms to build full end-to-end encryption that is on by default for everything you do, we expect that it will ultimately represent the future of personal communication."
