In the recent times, there have been so many news regarding Whatsapp chats being leaked by investigating agencies. As per many security researchers, these agencies are using cloud backups for accessing the whatsapp chats. There is a loophole and security concern for the users and Whatsapp have finally taken a step toward the fix. Whatsapp is now allowing the users to enable the end-to-end encrypted chat backups. Once you enable this feature, all your Whatsapp messages and any kind of media data will stored in the Google Driver or iCloud with end-to-end encryption. Your personal data gets totally secured because it can only get accessed by you. Here in this article, we have provided detailed process regarding how to turn on end-to-end encrypted chats backups in WhatsApp on your iPhone or any Android devices.
Details about End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backups in WhatsApp
Whatsapp messages are end-to-end encrypted that means that only sender and receiver can access and view the messages. These messages are can’t even be read by WhatsApp. However, this end-to-end encryption was not there for cloud backup until now. By default, the cloud backup created on Google Driver, iPhone or Android is not enabled as encrypted. So, anyone who gets access to those cloud backup can read your private messages since they are not encrypted.
Now with end-to-end cloud backup support by Whatsapp, everything will get changed. There will be similar end-to-end encryption standard for direct messages and for cloud backups. You are just a password away to create encrypted backup and then no one including Whatsapp, Google or Apple could access your messages.
In order to create encrypted backup, you have to generate a password or a 64 digit encryption key. This password or key gets stored in the device itself. In case if you want to transfer this cloud message in any other device, you have to provide the password or decryption key otherwise the cloud backup will not be accessed.
According to the official post by Facebook (parent company of Whatsapp), they have developed a new system for storing the password or encrypted key with in the device. They are using hardware security module (HSM) for data storage. This concept is similar to how to Apple stored Face ID data on Security Enclave.
Who Can Access the End-to-End Encrypted Chat Cloud Backup on WhatsApp
Only you can access the end-to-end encrypted chat. No one have the access to password or decryption key, not even the Whatsapp, Google or Apple. Without password or decryption key, access to the encrypted messages is impossible.
How to Turn on End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backups in WhatsApp for Android
Open Whatsapp on your Android device and click on the three dots present at the top right corner. In the Settings, go to Chats.
At the bottom section, click on “Chat backup”. The newly added “End to End Encrypted backup” option is available. Just tap on it to enable this feature. In case if you doesn’t notice this feature then hopefully, it will come in your device in few days.
In the next step, click on “Turn On” to activate end-to-end encrypted backup in WhatsApp. Here, you will be allowed to proceed with creating a password or 64-digit encryption key. For quick set-up, it is recommended to create a personalized password rather than using a 64 digit encryption key.
You can create your password next. It requires at least 6 character and 1 letter. Make a strong password and memorize it carefully for future use.
Once the password is created, tap on “Create” in the next pop-up to begin the encryption process in the background. Once the process gets completed, the WhatsApp messages backup gets encrypted in the Google Drive with your own personalized password.
Enable End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backups in WhatsApp on iPhone
In order to turn on the encrypted backup, open the “Settings” tab that is accessible through the bottom navigation bar. Go to chat section > “Chat Backup”.
Here you notice “End to End Encrypted Backup” option. Tab on “Turn on”.
Here, you will asked to create password in order encrypted whatsapp backup. Here also you have that option to generate 64 digit encryption key. This password will be very helpful when you switch to a new iPhone and want to access Whatsapp Backup on iCloud.
Once the password gets set, tap on “Create” in order to begin the encryption process. Now when you access the most recent WhataApp backup section, you will see “End to End Encrypted” tag.
How to Turn Off End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backup in Android and iPhone
In order to disable the end-to-end encrypted chat backup of Whatsapp on iPhone and Android, just go to Settings > Chats > Chats Backup > End-to-End encrypted backup and then tap on “Turn Off”.
Feed the password or 64 digit key and click on “Done”. Now your whatsapp backup on Cloud storage is not in end-to-end encrypted format any more.
How to Reset the Encrypted Cloud Backup Password in WhatsApp?
In case if you forget your Whatsapp backup password, you can change the older password with a new one without remembering the old password. You just have to make sure that you have Whatsapp registered in your device. If the Whatsapp has been deleted, you cannot change the password.
Go to Settings > Chats > Chats Backup > End-to-End Encryption Backup and tap on “Change Password”. Here you have to verify your identity using cloud encryption password. In the next section, create the new password.
That’s all, we have in this article. Here you have successfully understand how to enable the end-to-end encrypted chat backup in Whatsapp for Android as well as iPhone. Additionally, it has also been discussed to turn off E2EE cloud backup and to reset the password if you forget the old one.
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