

WhatsApp is the only service with such a caveat. According to this list, it's possible for the FBI to obtain message content if the target is using an iPhone with iCloud backup enabled. Writing about the degree to which police or the FBI could monitor your messaging used to be very difficult, but that's all changed since the release of a handy document from the FBI (Opens in a new window). WhatsApp was also home to ex-partners, old OKCupid dates, former managers and coworkers, as well as a litany of other people I'd never planned on speaking with again.Īnother challenge to any secure messenger is the continued assaults from governments and law enforcement on encryption systems. According to WhatsApp, Meta cannot see your contacts or your messages, but Meta can see your phone number, IP address, and any interactions with businesses on WhatsApp. It's frequently mentioned in WhatsApp's Privacy Policy, and there's an entire FAQ article (Opens in a new window) devoted to the subject. WhatsApp goes to great lengths to explain the insight Meta has into WhatsApp activities. (Opens in a new window) Read Our Slack Review Other messengers, like Facebook Messenger and Telegram, have E2EE as an option and only in some contexts, but for WhatsApp and Signal, it's the default. Not even the people at WhatsApp (and by extension, Meta) can read your messages. That means only the sender and the intended recipient can read messages on this service.

For one thing, it's built on the tried-and-tested Signal Protocol for sending and receiving end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messages.

Trust is the foundation of any secure messaging app, and WhatsApp does a lot to earn your trust. With a foundation on excellent technology and a huge built-in audience, the future of WhatsApp is starting to brighten. Since then, it has been bought by Meta (formerly Facebook), upgraded its security, and then entered a long period of mild stagnation that has recently ended. The solution was over-the-top messengers that used your data connection to send texts, and WhatsApp was the first mobile messaging platform to gain critical mass. And forget about group conversations or easily chatting with people in other countries. In the bad old days, texting plans were pricey and you could easily rack up hefty charges if you burned through your allotted amount.
