WhatsApp implements end-to-end encryption for chat backups: no one will read the correspondence

This summer, WhatsApp started testing end-to-end encryption for chat backups. Now the developers have officially launched this feature in the messenger, which will allow users to encrypt backups of their correspondence before they go to the company’s servers.

Despite the fact that encryption of messages in WhatsApp has been implemented since 2016, the service until today did not offer such an option for backing up chats, as they do in their cloud services Apple and Google. The company promises that the feature will appear in the app in the coming weeks.

After enabling end-to-end encryption, neither WhatsApp nor the third-party cloud backup service will be able to access the stored correspondence. Backups are encrypted using a unique, randomly generated key. Users can choose between two options: save the 64-character key, or set a password that can be used to access that key.

This feature certainly makes backups more secure, but there are a couple of important things to be aware of. An encrypted backup cannot be recovered if the key is lost, but you can reset the key password. It’s also worth noting that encrypted backups can only be used on the primary device where WhatsApp is installed.

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