WhatsApp can run on secure message backups that are password-protected

 

WhatsApp is reportedly experimenting on a new password authentication capability to encode chat backups to improve the reliability of its cloud backups. This makes them available exclusively to the customer. WABetaInfo posted last year on the progressive functionality, and shared the screenshots of how they can be seen in the iOS and Android apps of the service today.

"You should set the password to encrypt potential backups to block unwanted access to your iCloud drive backup," reads one of the screenshots. "When you recover the backup, this password is needed." The software then prompts the user to check his phone number and chooses an 8-character password. Another screenshot warns, "WhatsApp can't help restore passwords forgotten."

• The chat database is already encrypted now (excluding media), but the algorithm is reversible and it's not end-to-end encrypted.
• Local Android backups will be compatible with this feature.

The chat DB and media will be encrypted using a password that only you know. https://t.co/WAliLUnF18

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) March 8, 2021

Although WhatsApp chats are encrypted from end-to-end, which means that they are only open to the sender and receiver, the service warns that this security is not available to Google's and iCloud's saved online back-up. Backup security is the responsibility of cloud service providers on these servers, who previously provided them with valid search warrants to law enforcement authorities. The encryption of a password-only backups would theoretically prevent anyone without your permission from accessing your chat history.

This current feature reports came after a revised privacy policy was hit by WhatsApp's credibility, which raised the concern that further details could be stored on Facebook, a parent corporation. Although WhatsApp stresses that the new policy does not impact personal messages' protection, competing messaging platforms such as Signal and Telegram have seen an increase in demand as consumers consider other alternatives.

WhatsApp declined to comment on the unannounced feature when contacted by The Verge, but WABetaInfo has a good track record of unearthing features before they become official. It’s spotted features like adding contacts via QR codes or disappearing messages long before their official announcements