Soon, WhatsApp will let you protect chat backups with passwords
A few hours ago, Facebook enabled dark mode on WhatsApp, making the messaging service easier to use in dark environments. The move has been widely appreciated by millions, but it looks like the company is not done yet. Popular tipster WABetaInfo has revealed another big capability being developed for WhatsApp - the option to encrypt chat backups with passwords. Here's all about it.
Currently, WhatsApp backs up chats locally and on cloud
WhatsApp's chats are currently backed up on the user's phone and on the cloud, depending on the device in use. If you are using Android, the backup goes to Google Drive, but when that changes to iOS, the chats are backed up on iCloud. They are restored as and when you log in on a new device, with the same cloud account connected.
However, these cloud backups are not protected right now
While the backups are handy, they are stored without any native protection on the cloud, which basically means that cloud service's own password protection is the only layer between your chats and a hacker. If your cloud account gets hacked, either through phishing or some other technique, your private WhatsApp messages, including multimedia files, will be at risk.
Password protection for backups will hopefully solve the problem
Even though there haven't been any incidents of backup theft, the new WhatsApp feature, spotted in an alpha-stage build, hopes to tackle all such concerns. Specifically, it allows a person to encrypt their cloud-based chat backup with a password. Once that's done, no one would be able to access/restore a backup without putting in the confidential password, not even the owner of that data.
How the feature would work?
Though the feature is not yet available, WABetaInfo notes that it would be provided through Chat settings in WhatsApp. Basically, by heading over to Settings > Chats > Chat backup, you will get the option to enable the "password protect backups" setting for Google Drive backups. Once you do it, the service will prompt you to set a password and then encrypt your backup.
When this feature will roll out?
As the tipster noted, the feature is still in development - in an alpha stage build of WhatsApp. This means that as of now, we can't say when or if the Facebook-owned messaging service will make it available to the general public.
