This new feature will radically improve the security of your data on WhatsApp

© Amin Moshrefi/Unsplash

WhatsApp backups are essential because if you lose your smartphone, you risk losing all your conversations if you haven't made a backup. However, these backups can also be a weak link in terms of confidentiality. As a reminder, WhatsApp encrypts all communications using the Signal protocol. And thanks to this encryption, the content is unreadable when it passes through Meta's servers.

On the other hand, if your backups are not end-to-end encrypted, they do not necessarily benefit from the same level of protection. It is therefore essential, when you create WhatsApp backups, to encrypt them. And the good news is that the messaging service is preparing a new feature that will make encrypting backups much simpler by relying on access keys. In essence, it will be possible to create encrypted backups, without having to remember a password.

A new way to protect your secrets

Currently, WhatsApp already allows you to protect backups saved on iCloud or Google account with a password or a 64-digit encryption key. “WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption for all personal messages you send and receive. This ensures that only you and the person you are talking to can read or listen to them. With an end-to-end encrypted backup, you can add the same layer of protection to your iCloud and Google backups”, WhatsApp explains on this subject.

The problem is that this protection requires the user to memorize a password or a combination of 64 digits. If the user forgets this password or code while they no longer have access to their WhatsApp account, they lose all their data. But, to make encryption more practical, WhatsApp is preparing a new way to encrypt backups: with an access key or passkey. As a reminder, this is the technology that is used to log in without passwords on apps and online services.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

No more passwords

By digging into a beta version of WhatsApp, the WABetaInfo website discovered that the messaging service is working on this feature. If WhatsApp adopts access keys to secure backups, the user will no longer need to memorize a password. Indeed, the access key will be stored on the smartphone and synchronized across its various devices. And it will be enough for it to use the fingerprint scanner, the facial recognition device, or the PIN code of its device, to prove that it is in possession of this access key which unlocks the backup. This convenience should encourage more users to enable encryption when creating backups of their WhatsApp accounts.

But since the new feature has not yet been made official by WhatsApp, caution is still advised. In any case, it is worth noting that the WABetaInfo site is rarely wrong, given that it obtains its information from the beta versions of WhatsApp, which allow the app to test the new features that will be deployed later (or not).

• Encrypting WhatsApp backups is necessary for people who want to have a high level of confidentiality
• But this option also requires the use of a password or a 64-digit key that must be memorized
• WhatsApp nevertheless wants to simplify the creation of these encrypted backups, by relying on access keys or passkeys
• This technology, if adopted by WhatsApp, will make it possible to encrypt backups without having to memorize passwords

📍 To not miss any Presse-citron news, follow us on Google News and WhatsApp.

198.8 M reviews

[ ]