WhatsApp, which had rolled out end-to-end encryption on Android app back in 2014, has now started encrypting all communication on the platform by default, including calls, video calls, group messages, group calls etc. This is a big move, as communication between two users will be impossible to read by others including WhatsApp. This means requests for data by governments will be technically impossible to comply with. Note that chatting with users that have not yet updated the app will result in the messages not being encrypted. The group or chat info displays the names of users that are yet to update. The company has partnered with open source mobile security services provider Open Whisper Systems in 2014, to make use of the latter’s TextSecure protocol for this initiative. Open Whisper is known for developing mobile apps like TextSecure, RedPhone and Signal that allows users to make encrypted calls and send encrypted text messages. WhatsApp has also launched a feature letting users verify that the messages are end to end encrypted. For this users can either scan a QR code or compare a bunch of numbers to verify. Note that messaging apps like Silent Text and Telegram already offer similar encrypted messaging services. We reported last month that tech companies like Apple, Facebook, Snapchat and Google were also looking to further encryption on their services. MediaNama's take: What makes WhatsApp’s move such a big deal is the scale of the company. In February, the company crossed 1 billion monthly active users,…
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