It has taken a while but WhatsApp is finally rolling a highly requested privacy feature – encrypted backups. This feature was teased in July and it has finally arrived.
Unencrypted backups was one of its privacy flaws as cloud backups provided by Google Drive and Apple’s iCloud could be accessed by authorities if they get warrants and these tech giants could hand over access to your data.
This is was where rival messaging apps like Telegram and Signal got thumbs up in terms of privacy.
It’s important to note WhatsApp already offers end-to-end encryption for messages within the app.
WhatsApp will now let you encrypt the backups of your messages and this feature is rolling out to Android and iOS apps across the world.
This feature now secures your Google Drive and Apple’s iCloud backups with end-to-end encryption.
This feature has been disabled by default and here’s how to enable it
How To Turn On Encrypted Backups on WhatsApp
- Get the latest WhatsApp update via your respective app store.
- Go to Settings
- Click on Chats > Chat Backup > End-to-end Encrypted Backup
- Tap Continue. You’ll see prompts to set up a password or a 64-digit encryption key.
- Click Done.
Here’s everything else you need to know
- Encrypting your backups means that neither WhatsApp or Google or Apple will be able to read your backups.
- You won’t be able to restore your backup if you forget your encryption key or password and if you lose your WhatsApp chats. WhatsApp can’t reset your password or restore your backup for you.
- You can turn off encrypted backups too by clicking on Chats > Chat Backup > End-to-end Encrypted Backup and then tap Turn Off. We don’t recommend it.
