Experts have warned of privacy concerns for WhatsApp users on iPhone. We are talking about backing up message history, media files and settings and using it when switching to a new device, as well as the nuances of the new message auto-delete function.
The fact is that trusting WhatsApp backups on iPhone, you should take into account that they are not protected by end-to-end encryption. And this is a serious privacy issue, experts say.
First of all, you need to understand that you are giving Apple access to the content of your correspondence, which in itself negates the point of end-to-end encryption. In this case, the corporation will be able to transmit your messages to law enforcement agencies, if necessary.
Then there’s the auto-delete message feature that the WhatsApp developers implemented at the beginning of the month. The innovation is positioned as a serious step towards privacy, but in reality everything is not so simple with it either.
For example, if the user’s interlocutors respond to the so-called “automatically deleted message” (or send it), they will violate the very essence of the function – the messenger will fix the message in history. All backups will also remember the message that should have been automatically deleted. Of course, there are still screenshots, but that’s another story.
There are also certain questions about media files that can be saved automatically. Here’s what the WhatsApp developers themselves write about the nuances of the new function: “If the auto-delete message function is enabled, the media files sent to the chat will also be deleted.
However, they will remain with the interlocutors on the devices if the autoloading function of media files is activated. ” All this worries security experts, so they consider it necessary to warn: turn off autosave media files to the device. To do this, just go to Settings => Chats and turn off the “To Camera Roll” item.