Facebook-owned messaging application, WhatsApp said it would now offer end-to-end encryption on chat backups stored on Google Drive or iCloud. In a blogpost, the messaging application added that the backups could now be password-protected or a 64-digit encryption key that would be known only to the user. "Neither WhatsApp nor your backup service provider will be able to read your backups or access the key required to unlock it," it stated.
WhatsApp said it would roll out this feature slowly in subsequent updates of the app. Once available, on 'Settings' users would have to toggle to Chats > Chat Backup > End-to-end Encrypted Backup. The app would then seek a password to process the end-to-end backup encryption.
The Facebook-owned cautioned in its blogpost that the user would not be able to restore the backup if they lose their WhatsApp chats or forget their password or key. "WhatsApp can’t reset your password or restore your backup for you," it informed.
Additionally, users would be given the option of de-encrypting their backups.
End-to-end encryption was introduced five years ago by the platform as a privacy safeguard. WhatsApp claims that the feature "today protects over 100 billion messages a day as they travel between more than 2 billion users".
