WhatsApp wows users with end-to-end encryption

Have you ever wondered if a third party could see a message, picture or video you send through WhatsApp?

Well, wonder no more because WhatsApp has rolled out end-to-end encryption for all its users across the world. This means that when you upgrade to the latest version of the app, only you and the person you are communicating with can read what is sent. Nobody else, not even WhatsApp, can read it.

In a message to its over one billion users, WhatsApp said “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.

“This is because your messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and you have the special key needed to unlock and read them. For added protection, every message you send has its own unique lock and key. All of this happens automatically: no need to turn on settings or set up special secret chats to secure your messages.”

While this is good news for people who love to send stuff they don’t want anyone else – apart from the recipient – to see, it is horrible news for security agencies, especially with the rise of terrorism.

That means the likes of Boko Haram, Al Qaeda and ISIS can use the app to send messages and files without fear of being caught.

Recently Apple refused to help the FBI unlock the iPhone of a terrorist involved in the San Bernardino killings. Apple’s reason for not helping the FBI was that it didn’t want to violate its user’s data privacy and security norms.

Now WhatsApp – owned by Facebook – has gone a step further. The company says it doesn't store messages on their servers once the messages are delivered, “and end-to-end encryption means that WhatsApp and third parties can't read them anyway.”

So even if the corporate executives wanted to divulge any information to the authorities, they will not be able to do so.

“No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us,” WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton wrote on their blog.

Already some governments are jittery with the new development. There are indications that WhatsApp could face a ban in India if the company violates that country’s encryption laws. Other governments like Russia and China may follow suit, analysts say.