Berlin The messages in the instant messaging service WhatsApp will in future be encrypted throughout their journey. First benefit the users of the Android app. WhatsApp, which now belongs to Facebook, teamed up for this, together with the known encryption specialists Open Whisper Systems. The company offers “TextSecure” a method for the secure message exchange and also has its own app on.
The encryption principle of “TextSecure” find now also in the Android app from WhatsApp, Open Whisper Systems said in a blog post on Tuesday. Billion encrypted messages
Daily’d already exchanged. However, the encryption worked so far only for personal messages, not for group chats or photos and videos. Man working on these functions as well as the encryption of WhatsApp messages on other platforms, it said. WhatsApp has over 600 million users and is also popular on the Apple iOS operating system.
WhatsApp had been criticized in the past for lack of security. The app improved after the meantime. However, the new encryption provides extra security: protects the news on the entire path from transmitter to receiver. This is called end-to-end encryption.
As for the call partner communication is readable again, the company does not have access to the messages of the users. Both parties need to have the latest version of the Android app.
The program code of “TextSecure” is open and visible has been reviewed by independent experts. Also, why was the app recently full marks in a safety assessment of the US media page “ProPublica”
Despite the praise from professional circles is “TextSecure” compared with WhatsApp tiny. Less than one million users have Android App installed. The transition for What apps Android users called Open Whisper Systems as “the largest migration to end-to-end encryption in history”.
They want the encryption expand rapidly, wrote Open Whisper Systems: “This is just the beginning.” The company work with WhatsApp for half a year. The beginning of the year announced purchase of WhatsApp through Facebook had temporarily caused a traveler influx of competing applications.
According to the company, there is no slowdown in growth. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has distinguished himself as a critic of Internet surveillance by the US NSA. The online network is also such as Google and Apple to encryption of user data.
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