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The New WhatsApp Encryption is Giving the Feds a Headache

WhatsApp encryption
Facebook just made things worse for the FBI—and for governments throughout the world. Yesterday, they made sure that WhatsApp’s encryption was so good, that they can’t even tell what it is you’re talking about in chat.
That’s right folks. Remember the whole debacle between Apple and the FBI? Well, CNET reports that Apple’s encryption is going to be the least of the bureau’s worries. That’s because WhatsApp can be installed on any mobile phone, regardless of OS.
This means that it doesn’t matter if you’re an iPhone or an Android user. If you’re using WhatsApp, nobody else can see the details of your conversation with whoever it is you’re talking to.
Note that this is something that Facebook hasn’t gotten in trouble with previously.  Brazil still has it out for the company over the details of a WhatsApp-related case they were investigating earlier this year. Things got so bad that the Brazilian government detained Facebook’s top regional honcho for refusing to cooperate.
The thing is, even if they wanted to, Facebook or WhatsApp can’t do anything about this. End to end encryption ensures that sniffing for data throughout an entire conversation channel was going to be a very difficult endeavor. Even if the company wanted to help the government out—spoiler alert: they didn’t—they couldn’t.
If you think you’re going to be safe with all this, however, there is one caveat. Don’t lose your phone, because that won’t be as secure as the app.
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