Snapchat and WhatsApp to Increase their Encryption
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| Wired |
WhatsApp is generally thought to be a pretty secure app to message on, it's the reason why the Latin American president of Facebook was arrested last week. The authorities couldn't read WhatsApp messages that related to a drug ring they were looking into and they wanted Facebook to give them access. Facebook said they couldn't and that even they couldn't see the messages, which makes them pretty secure. The group messaging and voice call services aren't currently as secure though and that is what WhatsApp are looking into improving now.
This has unlikely came as a surprise to WhatsApp users. The app has always had good security, even before Facebook bought it out, due to founder Jan Koum who was born in Ukraine whilst it was still part of the Soviet Union. WhatsApp have never advertised their app to be great because of their security, the way they see it is that a social media app should naturally have good security. This is undoubtedly is one of the reasons people use WhatsApp though because it makes them feel that it is trustworthy.
Snapchat on the other hand do advertise the fact that their snaps are private and that is one of the reasons the app climbed to fame so quickly. It was unheard of that people could send pictures and then not have to worry about others possibly seeing it or the pictures being stolen. Even today those pictures are still well protected but any messages people send using the message section of the app though are different. At the moment text isn't well encrypted on Snapchat and this is probably because not many people actually use the messenger. If you have something to say to someone then you either do it in a picture or use another app but that doesn't mean that a lower level of security is acceptable. If someone need to send something on Snapchat they shouldn't have to risk security so these changes they plan on bringing in are welcome.
Whether these security measures get put into place and work has yet to be seen. In the past when companies like Twitter have tried to improve their security, they haven't been able to be actually implement the extra measures due them not being very accessible. WhatsApp and Snapchat should be different as their systems are built on the idea of privacy.
Rosina is a Songbird rookie with a degree in Creative Writing. She's trying to focus on her novel on the side but is hoping that Content Writing will turn out to be a good career choice in the mean time! Follow her @Songbird_Rosina
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Snapchat and WhatsApp to Increase their Encryption
Reviewed by Unknown
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Monday, March 14, 2016
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Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, March 14, 2016
Rating:
Unknown
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