Re:WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
by chimeracoder on Wednesday September 26, 2018 @03:49PM
(#18079597)
> I think demonizing the guys behind WhatsApp is entirely warranted. They built up a large userbase around promises of privacy and encryption
WhatsApp end-to-end encryption didn't actually begin until after the acquisition to Facebook had already gone through[0].
I am certain that, as of 2012-2013, WhatsApp wasn't even consistently using TLS to encrypt traffic. That's what made it so shocking when they suddenly leapt from some of the worst security practices of all messaging apps on the market to the best[1]. They built a massive userbase long before any efforts were made towards privacy and encryption.
[1] Signal didn't exist at the time, and yes, TextSecure existed, but almost nobody was using it compared to WhatsApp or any other chat app on the market today.
WhatsApp end-to-end encryption didn't actually begin until after the acquisition to Facebook had already gone through[0].
I am certain that, as of 2012-2013, WhatsApp wasn't even consistently using TLS to encrypt traffic. That's what made it so shocking when they suddenly leapt from some of the worst security practices of all messaging apps on the market to the best[1]. They built a massive userbase long before any efforts were made towards privacy and encryption.
[0] https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2472340,00.asp
[1] Signal didn't exist at the time, and yes, TextSecure existed, but almost nobody was using it compared to WhatsApp or any other chat app on the market today.