Security News > 2021 > October > WhatsApp's got your back(ups) with encryption for stored messages

Facebook's WhatsApp on Thursday began a global rollout of end-to-end encryption for message backups, which offers Android and iOS users with the ability to protect WhatsApp messages stored in Google Drive and Apple iCloud.

WhatsApp claims no other similarly large global messaging service provides E2E encryption for users' stored communications and media - WhatsApp has more than 2bn users and in some regions serves as the de facto communications platform.

WhatsApp introduced default E2E encryption for messages in 2016, meaning WhatsApp message content could not be read if intercepted while in transit over the network.

Last month, the fact that WhatsApp messages exist in a readable form when accessed by users prompted ProPublica to question the integrity of WhatsApp's security.

Those who'd prefer to keep their WhatsApp messages locked up with their own key should disable automatic iCloud Backup, so WhatsApp messages don't get copied to the cloud before encryption can be applied.

In August, when Apple was being criticized for proposing to run its child sexual abuse material monitoring code on customers' devices, WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart said WhatsApp managed to make more than 400,000 reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children last year without breaking encryption.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/10/14/whatsapps_backups_encryption/