WhatsApp will now encrypt your backups, along with the existing end-to-end encryption it uses for sending messages.
This means that theres no way to access your messages without physical access to your gear.
So, does this make WhatsApp the safest messaging service?
Its like sending a message in codeif its intercepted, nobody can decipher it.
Now,Facebook does something similar for your backups.
The backups, themselves, are encrypted and stored in your Google or Apple backup.
Oleg Mgni / Unsplash
Why not just store the key that unlocks your backup on your phone?
In anassociated white paper, Facebook details the setup.
Users can opt to use a 64-digit key and store it themselves.
Facebook has zero access to your messages.
Thats great, but only a small part of the story.
Facebook Surveillance Machine
Your messages consist of two thingsthe contents of the messages and their metadata.
Even if the former is locked up, the latter remains valuable, and Facebook has free access.
Metadata shows who you send messages to, when, and where you are when you send them.
Likewise, it shows who reads those messages and when.
Anyone with access to thismetadata can detect patterns.
The Alternatives
Apples iMessages are also end-to-end encrypted, but the backups are not.
The only way around this is to disable iCloud Backup and back up instead to your own computer.
Signal is probably the safest of all messaging platforms because it saves no metadata.
Instead, it passes messages along and then forgets everything about them.
Messages are only stored locally, saysSignals FAQ.
An iTunes or iCloud backup does not contain any of your Signal message history.
Oleg Mgni / Unsplash
Likewise, your messages are not saved in your backups, so thats safe too.
In summary, if you want privacy, use Signal.
