WhatsApp to Increase Privacy Protection of its Users

By Soko Directory Team / Published April 6, 2016 | 9:13 am

WhatsApp is a globally renowned messaging App on smartphone platforms, currently owned by Facebook. WhatsApp Inc. was founded in 2009 by Brian Action and Jan Koum, former employees of yahoo who incorporated it on February 24 2009 in California. It was then acquired by Facebook Inc. on Feb 19 2014 for about US$19.3 billion. The seven-year-old app has over one billion users around the world, which makes it the most popular messaging application.

WhatsApp basically sounds like what’s up. It uses internet to send text messages, documents, images, video, audio files, user location, audio media messages and make calls to other users using cellular mobile numbers across the globe.

On Tuesday, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum, announced that the app will have end-to-end encryption. This development makes WhatsApp a leader in user privacy protection. This means when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message.

“WhatsApp has always prioritized making your data and communication as secure as possible. And today, we’re proud to announce that we’ve completed a technological development that makes WhatsApp a leader in protecting your private communication: full end-to-end encryption. 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. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private – sort of like a face-to-face conversation.” The WhatsApp blog read in part according the CEO.

The question, however, is, will this encryption by WhatsApp encourage Cyber crime?

Article by Ruth Iguta.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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