WhatsApp Update : What is WhatsApp’s New End-to-End Encryption?

If you are a WhatsApp user, then you might have come across a pop-up that reads “Messages you send to this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption”. Have you ever wondered what does it actually mean?

WhatsApp Update – What is this end to end encryption?

In simple language, it means your message can be read by only the person with whom you are into a chat conversation. When you send a message or share photos/videos or even make a call from your updated version of WhatsApp, the entire conversation is sent in a scattered format, which gets assembled in the readable format by the receiver. This highly secured method ensures that the messages can’t be intercepted by anyone whether it’s the Govt., a hacker or even WhatsApp.

How it works?

This end-to-end encryption method works by combining all your messages in such a way that it requires a certain key in order to combine it again to make it readable. For secured authentication of messages and for key verification, WhatsApp uses AES-256 encryption technology in combination with HMAC-SHA256, so that all your combined messages can’t be hacked or cracked by any hacker. It offers secure authentication to exchange messages and also for verification purposes.

How can you be sure that your messages are encrypted?

It’s important to update your WhatsApp with the latest version. The encryption will be activated only if both participants have the latest version of WhatsApp. For example, if four people are in a chat conversation and either of them does not have the latest version of WhatsApp installed then, the entire chat process becomes unsecured.

To know whether your chats or messages are encrypted or not, click on the group or person’s name on the top of your chat. Scroll down towards the bottom and you can see if the chat is encrypted or not.

We will keep you updated whenever there’s a WhatsApp update. Stay tuned!