Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 5 hrs ago

End-to-end encryption hides message content but not all user data

End-to-end encryption scrambles messages on the sender’s device so only the recipient’s device can read them.

It protects message content, including text, audio, photos and videos, from the app company and people who intercept the connection.

But it does not hide all activity: platforms may still see details such as contacts, send times, IP addresses and group membership.

Those details can reveal who communicates and when, even without showing what they said.

WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal enable end-to-end encryption by default, while Telegram offers it only in Secret Chats.

WhatsApp conversations with business accounts are not covered by the protection described here.

Cloud backups can also expose messages if they are not encrypted.

Users can reduce that risk by enabling end-to-end encrypted backups in WhatsApp settings.

Sources

Exame · 5 hrs ago