Over the past few days you may have had a slightly strange message from Whatsapp.
The message, which promises that both your texts and calls are now secure, may sound a bit worrying but the good news is there’s nothing to panic about, nobody’s been listening in on your conversations, The Verge reports.
In fact this random pop up is less of a warning and more good news. The app’s now added ‘end to end’ encryption to its services, including voice calls so that only you and the messages intended recipient can read it.
The update means that even the bosses at Whatsapp can’t read your personal messages but far more importantly neither can menacing government figures.
The company announced the news in a blog post.
It read:
From now on when you and your contacts use the latest version of the app, every call you make, and every message, photo, video, file, and voice message you send, is end-to-end encrypted by default, including group chats.
The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us.
We’re sure that the government and Teresa May will love this…
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.