What end-to-end encryption is and why it matters more than ever

Who would you want to read your private text messages? For most of us, the obvious answer is only the person or group we intend to send it to. From casual to deeply personal conversations, people discuss all areas of life over text and keeping those messages private is a top concern.

Without realizing it, many of us share sensitive personal information through everyday messages, such as “I’m out of town” or “I’m leaving my key under the doormat.” These are details we wouldn’t necessarily want to share publicly. However, it’s not just about what you’re saying in a message, but the way in which you’re sending it.

For its more than 2 billion users, the messaging app WhatsApp automatically provides end-to-end encryption to ensure what you share with your contacts is only visible to them and no one else — not even WhatsApp. Every single one of the more than 100 billion personal messages sent over the platform each day are protected by this high level of security — right down to an emoji.

To protect private data from hackers and cybercriminals, WhatsApp implemented rigorous end-to-end encryption back in 2016. Its importance has only continued to grow as we share more and more information over our phones and devices.

How end-to-end encryption works

Around the globe, WhatsApp has soared in popularity because it’s secure, versatile and easy to use. It allows you to chat one to one, create group chats and communicate with others regardless of the model of their phone or even where they’re located. You can message someone in another country as easily as if they were in your own zip code.

The platform brings together texting and voice messaging, phone and video calls, and a way to share photos, videos and documents, as well as status updates, all in one place. You can do a lot in this one app, and it’s all protected by end-to-end encryption.

Before anything leaves your device, however, it is secured with a cryptographic lock, which scrambles the data so it can’t be read while in transit. The only other person with the key to unlock that encrypted message and unscramble its contents is the recipient. What you sent can only be read or viewed by you and whoever you’re sending it to – and no one in between.

Why end-to-end encryption matters

When you hit send on a non-encrypted message, there is a delivery system, such as an internet service provider, or a server, where it may be stored. In real time, it all happens so fast that many of us can’t even visualize how that data could be intercepted. 

To put it into context WhatsApp’s recent campaign compared messaging without encryption to someone delivering all of your mail and packages already opened and having peeked inside. In reality, many of us send unsecure messages without even realizing it. When you text a friend your location or how many days you’ll be on vacation, it’s information you wouldn’t want a stranger to see. And yet, many of us send that information in a way in which it could be intercepted.

Standard SMS and MMS messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted and the contents can be viewable by hackers. They’re also vulnerable to scammers, who can access conversations and personal data, like your phone number and identity. 

Generic mobile operating systems provide another way to send messages from phone to phone however, there’s a catch: Those messages are only encrypted when you’re sending them to another device with the same operating system.

An added layer of security for backups

In 2021, WhatsApp took their end-to-end encryption a step further by providing an optional layer to protect backups stored on iCloud or Google Drive.

For an added layer of security, WhatsApp users have the option to choose their own password or a 64-digit encryption key that only they know when they’re backing up their chat history. Again, it’s a key that only you’ll ever have access to.

It ensures privacy because end-to-end encryption first turns data into an unsolvable puzzle and seals it. If that seal were to be breached, critical information such as who sent it, where it was going and what it said still wouldn’t be detectable. The content is only unscrambled once it’s received and becomes part of your chat history. From there, encryption now protects what you decide to back up down the line.

To learn more about WhatsApp and its superb privacy capabilities, download the app or visit whatsapp.com.

Members of the editorial and news staff of Paste BN Network were not involved in the creation of this content.