Whatsapp has become the go-to application for instant messaging for smartphone users globally. Meta (Facebook) acquired WhatsApp a few years ago and since then has been focusing majorly on improving the overall user and messaging experience. But what has been working in favour of WhatsApp right from the initial days is the end-to-end encryption platform that is best suited for personal and private conversations.
But recently, one of the cybersecurity researchers pointed out a major loophole with WhatsApp’s end-to-end private ecosystem. It was revealed the brand is only proving the end-to-end encryption for the chats and media on the devices. The cloud server where the chat backups are stored doesn’t have this security layer. Soon after, WhatsApp added the end-to-end encryption service to the cloud backup as well. Now, users have the provision to add an extra layer of security to the Google Drive or iCloud backups on WhatsApp.
If you want your messages to stay protected from hacks and other security attacks, it would be wise for you to turn on the end-to-end encryption for the chat backups on Google Drive or iCloud. Since this feature isn’t activated by default, you’d need to toggle on this option manually. If you wish to enhance your WhatsApp security by adding the end-to-end security layer to chat backups, this step-by-step article will be your guide.
How To Turn On End-To-End Encryption Security For Chat Backups On WhatsApp
Just for reference, you can turn on the end-to-end chat encryption for both Google Drive and iCloud on WhatsApp. All you need is a working internet connection and the WhatsApp application installed on your respective Android smartphones or iPhones.
Step 1: Launch the WhatsApp application.
Step 2: Head to the Settings menu.
Step 3: Scroll down to the Chats option.
Step 4: Select the Chat Backup option.
Step 5: Tap End-to-end Encrypted backup.
Step 6: Hit the “Turn On” option.
Step 7: You’ll get prompted on the screen to create a new password or key. Do that.
Step 8: Click on the Create option. Wait for a while for WhatsApp to complete enabling your end-to-end encrypted backup for Google Drive or iCloud. Do note that you won’t be able to restore any backups if you lose WhatsApp chat or even forget the password or key. This is because WhatsApp doesn’t currently have the ability to reset or restore the backup.
How Can You Turn Off End-To-End Encrypted Chat Backup On WhatsApp
Step 1: Open WhatsApp mobile application and go to the Settings menu.
Step 2: Click on Chats and then select the Chat Backup option.
Step 3: Select the End-to-end Encrypted Backup menu.
Step 4: Click on Turn off. You would need to enter the password that you had setup initially.
Step 5: Confirm the changes and tap on Turn off.
