Increasingly, and especially in India, WhatsApp chats are leaked left, right and center by numerous agencies. In the middle of Kerfuffle, several security researchers pointed He says research agencies use cloud backups to decrypt and retrieve WhatsApp messages. Seeing the gap, WhatsApp finally brought the option to protect cloud backups with end-to-end encryption. This means All your WhatsApp messages and media stored in Google Drive or iCloud will now be end-to-end encrypted. And if you enable this feature, no one but you will be able to read your messages. So, if you want to open end-to-end encrypted chat backups in WhatsApp on your iPhone or Android smartphone, follow our guide below.
End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backups on WhatsApp (2021)
In this article, we talked about all about end-to-end encrypted chat backups on WhatsApp for Android and iOS. For easier navigation, you can expand the table and navigate to the relevant section you want.
What are End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backups on WhatsApp?
In our WhatsApp vs Telegram vs Signal comparison, we noted that WhatsApp messages are end-to-end (E2E) encrypted. This means that no one other than the sender and receiver can read the messages. Even WhatsApp can’t read messages. However, if you use the cloud backup option, whether it’s Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iPhone, these are backups are not encrypted by default. Basically, if someone accesses these cloud backups, they can get your messages as they are not encrypted.
WhatsApp replaces this with end-to-end encrypted cloud backup support. This means that the same gold security standard that exists for messages also comes to cloud backups. now you can Protect your cloud backups with end-to-end encryption, on both Android and iPhone. You just need to set a password for the backup and no one including WhatsApp, Google or Apple can read these personal messages.
How Do End-to-End Encrypted WhatsApp Chat Backups Work?
End-to-End encrypted chat backups work similarly to the secure delivery of messages on WhatsApp. You need to create a password or create a 64-digit encryption key, which is used to encrypt and protect cloud backups in both Google Drive and iCloud. This the password or encryption key is stored on the device itself, which means no one can access your cloud backups. Only when you enter the password/encryption key can messages be decrypted and transferred from the cloud to a new device.
Facebook (renamed Meta) has revealed the specs behind encrypted cloud backup. official blog post. The company says it has developed a new system to store the encryption key/password on the device. Her exploit a hardware security module (HSM) – a special hardware component – on Android and iOS devices to store keys. Similar to how Apple stores Face ID data in the Secure Enclave and Android stores private keys in the HSM, WhatsApp employs the same method here.
Who Can Access WhatsApp E2EE Cloud Backups?
No one but you can access WhatsApp end-to-end cloud backups. Not even WhatsApp, Google or Apple can access the encryption key or password. The unique key is stored locally on your device and you can decrypt messages if you remember the password or have the encryption key.
Open End-to-End Encrypted WhatsApp Chat Backups on Android
1. Launch WhatsApp and tap the 3-dot menu icon in the upper right corner. Here open “Settings” and click “chats“.
2. Next, tap on “.chat backup“below. new one”End-to-end encrypted backupTap on the “option.” under the “Backup” button. If the option does not appear in your WhatsApp account, you need to wait for the feature to come to your device.
3. Next, tap “.Hungry” To enable End-to-end encrypted backups in WhatsApp. On the next page, you can choose to create a password or use a 64-digit encryption key to protect the cloud backup. I would like suggest using the password option for quick and easy installation.
4. After that, create password for your backup. Note that the password must contain at least 6 characters and 1 letter. Also, DO NOT FORGET the password or you will lose access to all your messages. Not even WhatsApp or Google can help you decrypt your cloud backup as they don’t store the password.
5. After setting the password, tap “.Create” will start the encryption process on the next screen and in the background. Once complete, all your WhatsApp messages in Google Drive will be encrypted with your unique password.
Open End-to-End Encrypted WhatsApp Chat Backups on iPhone
1. To turn on encrypted cloud backup in WhatsApp on iPhone, go to the “Settings” tab from the bottom navigation bar. Next, go to the “Chats” section and then “Chat Backup“.
2. At the bottom you will find the new “End-to-End Encrypted Backup” option. Open it and tap on “.Hungry“.
3. Now, you can create password to protect the encrypted backup. You also have the option to generate a 64-digit encryption key, but a password will be easier for you to remember. Be sure memorize or jot down the password elsewhere, you can’t decrypt the backup from iCloud if you switch to a new iPhone.
note: If you want to use a 64-digit encryption key to encrypt and protect your WhatsApp cloud backups, we have also included a screenshot of the steps for this process. You need to select “Use 64-digit Encryption Key instead” and then “Generate your 64-digit Key”. Then you need to tap on “Continue” and follow the steps below.
4. After setting the password, tap on “.Create” and WhatsApp will start encrypting the backup in iCloud. You will now see an “End-to-End Encrypted” label below the information about your most recent backup.
Steps to Turn Off End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backups (Android and iOS)
1. To turn off end-to-end encrypted chat backup in WhatsApp on Android and iOS, open Settings and go to Chats -> Chat Backup -> End-to-end encrypted backup. Here, tap onClose“.
2. Submit this, enter your password or 64-digit Encryption key and tap “Done”. This much. You have successfully disabled end-to-end encrypted cloud backups for your WhatsApp account.
Forgot Encrypted Cloud Backup Password on WhatsApp? How to Reset!
If you forgot the password to your encrypted backup stored in Google Drive or iCloud, there is nothing to worry about. You can change it in WhatsApp without having to remember the old password. said make sure you still have WhatsApp saved on your device. If you deleted WhatsApp, you cannot change the backup password when switching to a new device.
Open Settings and navigate to: Chats -> Chat Backup -> End-to-end encrypted backup. Now, tap “Change Password” and authenticate using cloud encryption password. Now you can easily create a new password for the encrypted backup.
Easily Enable E2EE Cloud Backups on WhatsApp
This is how you can enable End-to-end encrypted cloud backup in WhatsApp. However, we also told you how to turn off E2EE cloud backup and reset password if you forgot it. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you want to know more about such awesome WhatsApp tricks, follow our linked article. If you want to turn on two-step verification in WhatsApp, go to our linked detailed tutorial. Finally, if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.
