Facebook updated its WhatsApp messaging service earlier this week to enable end-to-end encryption for all communications on the platform, protecting text-based messages, VoIP calls, and other items sent between users. Even though the
extra security is likely to be welcomed by the majority of users, it appears that law enforcement agencies will still be able to gain access to some metadata relating to messages and calls, if not the content of the messages themselves.
On Tuesday,
WhatsApp rolled out the encryption feature to all users, enabling it by default in all versions of the software. Encryption was previously available for some WhatsApp communication, which stemmed from a partnership with
Open Whisper Systems, but it only worked for a limited number of different messaging types, such as direct messages between users on Android. Now, all messages are encrypted between all users on all available platforms by default.
"The only person who can read (a message) is the person or group chat that you send that message to," writes WhatsApp team members in a
blog post. "No-one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us."
Later in the post, WhatsApp acknowledges recent encryption debate issues. "While we recognize the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people's information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and rogue states."
WhatsApp does already have experience with dealing with law enforcement over encryption, with at least two major instances where it was scorned by governments. In December last year, the app was
temporarily banned in Brazil after WhatsApp failed to share information with police investigating drug trafficking, while the
Department of Justice reportedly had issues applying a wiretap order to the service last month, again due to its use of encryption.
According
to Livemint, governments will still have some information about communications between users, though not what is actually being said in messages. The
terms and conditions of the app advises it "may retain date and time stamp information associated with successfully delivered messages and the mobile phone numbers involved in the messages, as well as any other information which WhatsApp is legally compelled to collect."
Though this won't help a government agency listen in to a conversation, it will at least be able to find out which phones were used and when the conversation took place.
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