The FBI and some government officials are still insisting that OEMs need to give them backdoor access to their encrypted products for “security purposes”. The tech companies, including Apple, Google, Samsung and other big names have been pushing back and siding with the right of their users to privacy. Several of them have actually taken steps to ensure that the data and information that goes through them are super encrypted. One of these is supposedly WhatsApp. The messaging app is rumored to be releasing encrypted voice calls and group messaging soon.
Encryption is of course nothing new to WhatsApp as they gave their Android users end-to-end encryption back in 2014. But what will reportedly arrive soon is encrypted voice calls so that users will have all the protection they need from prying ears. Even group messaging will also be encrypted according to several sources and the official announcement for both updates is imminent.
Other companies are also looking into similar ways of boosting encryption, and in fact, Google is rumored to be looking at ways they can apply their email encryption tech on to its other products, and maybe even possibly Android itself. Facebook and Snapchat are also studying ways to protect their users’ privacy and boost security.
But if the WhatsApp rumors will turn into a confirmed move for them, it will not be a laughing matter for the FBI and the government, since it reportedly has 1 billion users. The ongoing battle with Apple, which has of course turned into a legal circus, proves that they are bent on finding a way to circumvent this issue, in case there is a huge need to get into a smartphone in the interest of national or international security.
VIA: SlashGear
