A major new WhatsApp security feature could be just around the corner. Intrepid sleuths at WABetaInfo have spotted a yet-unreleased feature called Protected Backups in a beta version of the Android app.
Since the feature hasn’t been officially added to the app yet
WhatsApp owner Facebook hasn’t said anything about it yet – details are a little scarce at the moment, but we still get an interesting look at what’s in store for the popular messaging app.
The feature was spotted in WhatsApp Senegal WhatsApp Number List version 2.20.66 for Android. It is not currently functional, but analysis of the beta version’s interface shows that WhatsApp users will, at some point, be able to save encrypted backups of their chats to Google Drive.
A new option in WhatsApp’s Chat Backup section
Will give users the ability to ‘password protect backup’ by enabling the Protected Backups feature. If you look at the Google Drive section of WhatsApp’s settings right now, you’ll WhatsApp Number Database see a warning that cloud backups aren’t protect by end-to-end encryption (like Messages). The new Protect Backup feature adds an extra layer of security. Meaning neither WhatsApp nor Google will be able to see the backups.
Chat Backup Lock
Since this security feature was only discover by WABetaInfo rather than being announce by WhatsApp. It’s impossible to say when it will become functional for beta testing – and even Bulk Database harder to guess when it might make its way to regular users. It’s also hard to say whether iOS users will have access to the same option; we’ll just have to wait and see.
If you’re interest in becoming a beta tester for WhatApp. You can sign up here; there are no open spots available at the moment. But it’s worth checking back from time to time to see if that changes.