Tech

WhatsApp End-to-End Encrypted Cloud Backups to Roll Out Soon for Android, iOS Users

WhatsApp is set to roll out end-to-end encrypted cloud backups on Android and iOS soon. The new move will help users keep their chats end-to-end encrypted even if they’re part of a WhatsApp backup stored on a cloud service like Apple iCloud or Google Drive. WhatsApp has been working from the ground up to enable the expected end-to-end encrypted backup support for users. Notably, the instant messaging app has been offering end-to-end encrypted messages on its platform since 2016 and the update is essentially an extension of the level of security. there for chat backup.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday announced through a post on the platform that WhatsApp has completed building end-to-end encrypted backups and will soon begin rolling out its own layer of privacy protection. privacy and new security for users.

End-to-end encrypted backups will be available as an optional feature that users need to enable manually on the app. It will be rolled out to both Android and iOS devices in the coming weeks, the Facebook-owned company said.

Users will be able to enable end-to-end encryption for their chat backups on WhatsApp by generating a password, which they will be required to restore their backups to in the future. Additionally, WhatsApp will also be able to use their 64-digit encryption key for authentication.

By enabling end-to-end encryption for backups, users will be able to protect their chat history from being accessed by any third parties. The company claims that neither WhatsApp nor backup service providers including Apple and Google will have access to end-to-end encryption keys and user backups.

WhatsApp already allows users to keep backups of their chats on Apple iCloud for iPhones and on Google Drive for Android phones. But in both cases, backups stored in the cloud are not protected by end-to-end encryption on the WhatsApp side. This means that the data can be read by third parties. It has led to a number of cases in which third parties including law enforcement agencies may have gained access to users’ data. This is where new end-to-end encrypted backups can come in handy.

The level of security through the new feature will be similar to how WhatsApp messages are protected with end-to-end encryption. However, WhatsApp’s engineers need to work hard to make progress – especially considering the fact that there are over two billion users on the app sending more than 100 billion messages a day, and most of them they use cloud backup to protect their chat history.

With end-to-end encrypted backups, WhatsApp encrypts chat messages and all existing messaging data including texts, photos and videos is being backed up with a random key that will be generated on device.

WhatsApp has built a Backup Keystore based on a Hardware Security Module (HSM) that will take effect when users choose a personal password to protect their chat backups. This Vault service stores encryption keys for user backups on a per-user basis and acts as a physical set of keys in your bank to store keys that help secure password backups provided by the user. It returns the key after validating your password every time you need to restore your end-to-end encrypted backup. The service also ensures that the encryption key will not be provided after a certain number of unsuccessful attempts.

To avoid data center outages, WhatsApp says that it is keeping the Backup Key Vault service geographically distributed across multiple data centers.

“Because backups are encrypted with a key unknown to Google or Apple, the cloud service provider cannot read them,” WhatsApp said in an official report.

It’s important to note that if a user forgets their password and loses access to their phone, they won’t be able to restore their encrypted backup.

In the event a user does not select a password option for their end-to-end encrypted backups and is instead using a 64-digit key, they will be required to manually enter the key on the app to decrypt and access their backups.

WhatsApp was originally spotted bringing end-to-end encrypted backups to its platform in July. Last month, the app was also spotted working on extending end-to-end encryption to apps. local backup, although there is no official word on the implementation of this application.

That said, the end-to-end encrypted backup feature will initially reach beta testers on Android and iOS in the coming days – before reaching end users.


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