Could This Really Be The Beginning Of The End For WhatsApp?

Jan 26, 2019, 05:24am

Zak Doffman

I write about security and surveillance technologies.   


  

                    

"It seems that Facebook is about to reverse years of promises around the integrity and independence of its flagship WhatsApp messaging platform. And coming off the back of the worst year of PR for the social media giant, the implications for the future of WhatsApp could be game-changing.

Some years ago, the first time a politician or intel chief or cabinet minister told you to keep all communications on WhatsApp it came as a surprise. Not for long. Now it has become commonplace. In many of the most sensitive circles and circumstances imaginable, it is the communication tool of choice, trusted for its security and integrity. There are messaging apps that are better known for their security than WhatsApp, such as Signal and Wickr.me, but there are none as ubiquitous or widely used.

More than 1.5 billion users now send more than 65 billion messages daily on WhatsApp - it can genuinely claim to have become the de facto mobile messaging platform, globally. 

WhatsApp has also become central to the debates within national security and counter-terrorism focusing on encryption and law enforcement access to data. Platforms like WhatsApp override national intercept arrangements with telcos and internet service providers. This does not sit well with government and law enforcement, even as the individuals who deride the lack of access often rely on the secure messaging themselves.

Driving this level of adoption has been WhatsApp’s ease of use, its perceived security and its lack of clutter and marketing interference. As the service says online: “from day one, we built WhatsApp to help you stay in touch with friends, share vital information during natural disasters, reconnect with separated families, or seek a better life. Some of your most personal moments are shared with WhatsApp, which is why we built end-to-end encryption into our app. When end-to-end encrypted, your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, and calls are secured from falling into the wrong hands.”

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