14 DAY TRIAL // WhatsApp is working on a major security update for iOS users, as it plans to let them password-protect their backups before they are actually uploaded to iCloud.
At this point, WhatsApp gives users the option to back up their chat history to iCloud, but once the data is uploaded to Apple’s cloud server, no encryption is being used.
In other words, if required by law enforcement, Apple has no other option than to provide investigators with access to users’ backups, which can include anything from messages to photos and videos.
But according to WABetaInfo, the Facebook-owned company is currently working on dealing with the whole thing by allowing iPhone users to set up a password before they back up the data in iCloud.
No way to reset the password
In other words, WhatsApp will soon provide users with a new encryption method that would make it impossible for the law enforcement to access the data even if Apple hands it over.
The password must have at least eight characters in length, and users are required to confirm their phone numbers. The Facebook-owned company says it won’t be able to recover forgotten passwords, so once you set it up, it’ll stay there with no option to reset it.
“To prevent unauthorized access to your iCloud Drive backup, you can set a password that will be used to encrypt future backups. This password will be required when you restore from the backup. Enter your phone number below to confirm you want to protect your backups,” the notification showing up in WhatsApp reads.
For now, it’s not yet known when WhatsApp wants to roll out the new feature, but given it’s already in testing, it shouldn’t take too long before it goes live. Most likely, the Facebook-owned company will release it to the first devices later this year.