Washington:
The most recent update to Whatsapp’s Android app includes an end-to-end encryption that is enabled by default.
It is the strongest security offered by a texting app even when compared to similar tools offered by giants like Google, Apple and Microsoft.
Unlike messages encrypted by Gmail or Facebook chat, an “end-to-end” encryption would mean that even Whatsapp will not be able to decrypt the messages even when compelled by law enforcement, reported The Verge.
The company will set up the key exchange between users but only the two users will be have access to the conversation itself. Whatsapp teamed up with Open Whisper Systems for the launch and used open source code to build in the new features.
However, it’s unclear when the company will introduce the features to its iOS app.
Other apps like, Cryptocat, Silent Text and Telegram, do provide end-to-end encryption but with over 600 million users across the world, WhatsApp is the largest texting platform to adopt the system.
