WhatsApp has quietly improved the security of its chat app. Thanks to WhatsApp iCloud encryption, your backup is also safe from now on.
WhatsApp improves iCloud encryption
WhatsApp is said to have improved security to close a potential leak. According to Forbes Messages that are protected with end-to-end encryption in the app can still be viewed via the iCloud backup.
Of course, the hacker must first have access to the user’s iCloud account, but with the improved WhatsApp iCloud encryption, your messages will also be unreadable for Apple itself.
The improvements would have been made since the end of 2016, but were only now discovered by an outside company testing the security. In a response, a WhatsApp spokesperson said that a backup of your chats will now all be sent to iCloud with encryption.
Investigation by security company
The security researchers still managed to retrieve the WhatsApp data from iCloud. However, for this they needed a SIM card with the same number as the owner of the account. A situation that seldom occurs for average users, but can be abused by governments, for example.
WhatsApp has been making it possible to secure your chat conversations with end-to-end encryption since April 2016. In addition, the service is committed to rejecting requests from governments to hand over data.
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