WhatsApp Is Working On Encrypted Chat Backups With Password Protection

WhatsApp is working on ways to encrypt chat backups that users place on the cloud with a new password protection feature that’ll encrypt it, making it accessible only to the user.

Right now, chats are end-to-end encrypted on the phones of people involved in the chat. But once the chat is backed up, this is no longer the case. This has been a concern many privacy activists have raised in the past.

READ MORE: WhatsApp Introduces Video, Voice Calls To Desktop Apps

WhatsApp features tracker, WABetaInfo on Monday shared screenshots of how it could be presented in the service’s iOS and Android apps, stating that it showed up on beta versions of the app, which means it should be making its way to mainstream versions soon enough.

“To prevent unauthorized access to your iCloud Drive backup, you can set a password that will be used to encrypt future backups,” one of the screenshots reads. “This password will be required when you restore from the backup.” The app then asks the user to confirm their phone number, and select a password that’s at least eight characters long. Another screenshot warns that “WhatsApp will not be able to help recover forgotten passwords.”

In addition to cloud backups, WABetaInfo tweeted that local Android backups would also be compatible with the new update. This means that you would also be able to apply password protection to the backups you're saving locally on your Android phone. WhatsApp does not allow local backups in the case of iPhones.

• 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