this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
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For open source messengers, you can check whether they actually encrypt your messages and whether the server has access to your encryption keys but what about WhatsApp? Since it's not open source, you can't be sure that the encryption keys aren't sent to the server, right? Has there been a case where a government was able to access WhatsApp chats without reading them from the phone itself?

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[–] nao@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

It does not matter how good the encryption is. The app on your device has to be able to decrypt the content to be able to show it to you. If it has access to the decrypted data, it could just send it somewhere. If it has access to your private key, it can leak it. Even if the app is open source, you do not know if the binary on your phone matches that source, unless it uses reproducible builds and you actually verify the binary on your particular device, after each update.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 year ago

It is impossible to say. If you are that concerned you should use something else

[–] Pantherina@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago

Ask Meta. Its not Open source, its all "trust me bro its encrypted with some encryption"

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Governments, if they want, can decrypt any chat, not just Whatscrap. But it makes a difference if a chat, especially this Zuckerbot shit, directly opens a Backdoor to governments, to give them access, or if they have to bother hacking the chats themselves, which due to its cost and time, is only done with a court order.

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