What does WhatsApp encryption mean for you?

Everything on WhatsApp is now encrypted, end-to-end, for all operating systems. That means engineers at the Facebook-owned chat app wouldn’t be able to read messages or watch video calls sent by its users even if ordered to do so by a court.

“WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you’re communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp,” according to an explanation on the app’s website. Wired was the first to report on the feature.

WhatsApp has a billion users, making it the world’s most popular chat app by some distance. End-to-end encryption is not an entirely new feature on the app: It’s been pushed to hundreds of millions of users on the Android mobile operating system since November 2014. But that rollout didn’t cover all types of messages, like group chats, videos, or photos. It also didn’t cover other operating systems, like Apple’s iOS or Windows Phone, although Android is the world’s most popular mobile OS.

WhatsApp’s latest encryption announcement is therefore just the final piece of a feature that the company has been working at for two years, in a way that renders it nearly invisible to its own users, as one of the cryptographers working on the project, Moxy Marlinspike, told Wired in 2014. “Now every message, photo, video, file, and voice message you send, is end-to-end encrypted by default if you and the people you message use the latest version of our app. Even your group chats and voice calls are encrypted,” WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum said in a Facebook post today (Apr. 5).

There are a handful of visible signs that encryption has kicked in. A text bubble now appears at the top of every new chat confirming that messages and calls are now end-to-end encrypted, if everyone participating in that conversation has the latest version of the app. Users also can manually verify that a chat is encrypted by scanning a unique QR code or comparing a 60-digit string of numbers that is generated for each chat.

It’s not entirely clear when the latest encryption features were introduced, and how much data was originally being encrypted on the various operating systems. The latest version of WhatsApp on iOS was available on April 1, while the latest Android version was available on March 29. We have asked Facebook for clarification.

How does WhatsApp end-to-end encryption work?

WhatsApp encrypting messages ‘end-to-end’ is a big deal because it means that the company itself has decided to run a system in which even it cannot intercept and read messages sent on its own platform. 

When you send a message, it can only be ‘unlocked’ by the intended recipient, thanks to a very complex code that took WhatsApp several years to develop. It’s no mean feat to achieve, particularly given that 1 billion people use the service. 

This differs to many messaging apps, which only encrypt messages between you and them. This means that your messages are stored on the services servers, usually not permanently, so hypothetically could be accessed and read.

Why has WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encryption? 

Now that WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, it means that they and no party – governments, police, hackers, other users – can intercept and read your messages.

WhatsApp has done this because as a company they believe in your right to have private conversations when you use their service. Also see: How to avoid WhatsApp scams

Why is end-to-end encryption important? 

The reason the decision is getting a lot of attention is because of high profile cases in which communications service providers like Facebook are put upon by authorities to release sensitive personal data.

A high profile case is the FBI asking Apple to unlock an iPhone 5C that was used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, a move which Apple refused, underlining the integral values many large communications companies hold when it comes to personal data, security and encryption.

Does every app have end-to-end encryption?

The short answer is no – but also this is not something to be alarmed about.

WhatsApp’s decision is one of the first of its kind, and is particularly interesting because traditionally smartphone messaging services have played down the importance of security.

Facebook Messenger only encrypts messages between your device and their servers. This means, by law, Facebook could be obliged to divulge private messages. The same applies to Instagram, which Facebook owns, though interestingly, it also owns WhatsApp.

The account you log onto in Windows 10 is probably connected to Microsoft. Here's why you might (and might not) want to change that and how to do it.

You can set up a local user account on a Windows 10 PC so you don't have to bother with a Microsoft account. Here's how to do it.

But should you? With a Microsoft account, settings you change on one computer can carry over to others. You have an immediate, automatic connection to OneDrive. And you don’t have to type in your password every time you download an app from the Microsoft Store.

So why would you want to use a local account instead? Privacy. With a local account, Microsoft doesn’t know who you are.

If you’ve got a Microsoft account and want to convert it to a local one, click the Startbutton, then click your avatar at the top of the Start menu. Select Change account settings.

This will bring up the Accounts window in Settings. In the default Your email and accountstab, click Sign in with a local account instead.

On the resulting wizard’s first page, enter your current Microsoft account password.

On the next page of the wizard, enter a password twice. Don’t use the same one you used for your Microsoft account. You can also change your name here if you wish.

On the next page, just click Sign out and finish. Windows will log off and back on.

And yes, it will still be pretty much the same account. You’ll have the same library folders and files, the same settings, and even the same PIN if you use one.

If you ever want to go back to a Microsoft account, go back to Settings > Accounts, select the Your email and accounts tab, and click Sign in with a Microsoft account instead. Then follow the wizard. You’ll have to enter your email address and Microsoft password, and later your local password.

The launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive has VR enthusiasts salivating for both headsets and content, but these platforms are anything but inexpensive. The Rift (without motion controllers) is $600, while the Vive (with motion controllers) will sell for $800. The third major VR player, Sony, has announced a $400 standalone VR headset and a $500 kit that includes the motion controller and camera you need to actually use VR. Even that $500 price is considerably below the HTC Vive, but the fact that PlayStation VR is tied to the PS4 is a no-go for many PC gamers. Sony is dropping hints that it might address this problem by bringing its kit to the PC space as well. This would be an unusual move for Sony; Microsoft has typically been more willing to bring its console peripherals to the PC space.

In an interview with Nikkei (as translated by Gamesindustry.biz), Sony Computer Entertainment executive vice president Masayasu Ito suggested that PC compatibility could be added at a later date, even if it wasn’t present on launch day. “Since the PS4’s internal parts are similar to those of a PC, this is a possibility,” Ito said. “Right now we’re focused on games, so we’re not at the point of announcing anything, but there’s a possibility to expand into various field.”

Ito also told the press that the reason Sony shifted its launch for Project Morpheus to the back half of the year had to do with increased demand. Apparently Sony expects to sell 1-2 million PSVR headsets this year, and couldn’t manufacture them quickly enough to supply that many during a spring launch. Delaying the ship date gives the company more time to ramp production.

PSVR, PS4K, and the PC market

We don’t know how the final PSVR hardware / experience will compare with Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive, but a PC-compatible PSVR kit could be an enormous hit if Sony builds in compatibility with either Steam VR or the Oculus Store. Manufacturers that hit the “good enough” sweet spot often sweep the mainstream market, even if more expensive products offer a superior experience.

The rumors of a PlayStation 4K could complicate the VR question, however, especially if that console offers any kind of upgraded graphics hardware. VR needs all the horsepower you can throw at it — a 10-15% performance gain at 1080p might be nice, but not a game changer, while that same performance boost in VR could make the difference between nausea and a steady stomach. Sony isn’t billing the PSVR as a PS4K peripheral, and we don’t have any kind of launch day for the new console iteration, but a $400 PS4 on top of a $400-$500 PSVR kit would put the buy-in price near $1,000. The PS4’s VR might be somewhat weaker than Oculus, but it’s not clear yet if that would translate into running well on lower-end PCs — that’s another system aspect we’d have to evaluate when and if Sony ships a PC-compatible product.

Bringing the PSVR kit to the PC space, meanwhile, could be an extremely smart move. Microsoft has nothing equivalent in the pipeline for the Xbox One; HoloLens is an early product with a four-figure price tag and no serious efforts to bring it to console hardware. A PSVR with broad compatibility across the PC space would give gamers a cheaper way to access VR from their primary gaming platform. Gamers who own both a PS4 and a gaming PC (yes, such people exist) would benefit the most, with the ability to move the same peripheral in-between platforms and titles.

All of this hinges on the PSVR’s ability to compete with the likes of Oculus and HTC, but we’re curious to see how this develops. Anything that pushes the price of decent VR gear lower and makes it more accessible is a good thing for the larger VR market.